The Global Soil Survey is a research project focused on refining and validating new [url=http://www.paceturf.org/index.php/journal/minimum_level_for_sustainable_nutrition/">Minimum Levels for Sustainable Nutrition (MLSN) guidelines.
1. I presume the initial soil tests are used as baselines for each respective course. Is this correct?
Yes, I guess you could call it a baseline. The initial report is a snapshot of chemical conditions at the course relative to the new MLSN guidelines. From that point you can decide whether or not you want to try to drop some soil levels by withholding fertilizers to increase sustainability if your values are above the MLSN guidelines. I suppose there will be cases where values for a particular element os below guidelines and in those cases additional fertilizer will be needed. That means for sustainability, additional fertility is needed or the turf will suffer. For that reason, I think baseline is not a great term. The initial report is just the first point, nothing special. Ideally fertilizer inputs will be reduced, but if the turf is starving, it will need to be fertilized. We're pretty sure less fertilizer will be needed at most locations.
2. Is a seasonal fertility guide then created for the golf course?
Yes and No. At this time, we are only projecting total annual nutrient withdrawal based upon nitrogen applied. If you use the climate appraisal spreadsheet in the GCSAA IPM Template, you can obtain an estimate of nitrogen requirements based upon projected growth models using average monthly temperature. These are primarily planning tools and actual nitrogen applications should be made based upon expected growth and turf performance demands. We do provide a chart that reports the total fertilizer requirement based upon application of 1 lb N/1000 sq ft (5 g N/M^2). You can multiply the fertilizer requirement value in the table provided by the monthly projected N requirement from the climate appraisal to develop a seasonal nutrient requirement. Sound confusing? Contact me and I will try to answer your questions.
Refer to Climate Appraisal spreadsheet listed on this page:
http://www.paceturf.org/index.php/publi ... ning_toolsCheck the linked publication on nitrogen driving uptake of other nutrients in turfgrasses. Nitrogen is the driver (in high organic matter soils some N is going to be released beyond that applied):
http://www.hindawi.com/isrn/agronomy/2012/359284/3. If the answer to question #2 is yes, is it a hard-fast program that we may not deviate from?
What you do with the data is your business. We are just providing some ideas and trying to validate a new set of minimum soil guidelines. We would like to hear back from you if you participate to let us know if the new guidelines are helpful or not.
4. Do we have any obligations other than being a participant?
There are no obligations other than the purchase of the kit. We will provide a custom report for you and put your data into the increasing database of soil nutrient levels that is used to validate and refine the guidelines. If you are interested, the link below will take you to the abstract from the first presentation of the new guideline model and how the values were derived:
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/p ... ones/8.htmThank you for your interest.