Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - 3:45 PM
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Resources for Conveying the Science of Nitrogen Use and Proper Turfgrass Fertilization Practices.

Haibo Liu, 253 P&A Building, Clemson University, Department of Horticulture, Clemson, SC 29634-0319

Nitrogen management for turfgrass is facing new changes but it is still one of the most fundamental, effective, and sensitive areas for turfgrass managers world wide. Researches on turfgrass N use and management have been one of the most active topics for turfgrasses ever since the turfgrass science started. Facing the new changes and challenges in today’s turfgrass management, resources for conveying the science of N use and proper turfgrass fertilization practices may include the following areas without any limitations: 1) Turfgrass N use efficiency and further reduced N input to turfgrass areas including the most intensively maintained turf areas; 2) N application techniques including foliar absorbed N and much enhanced environmental stewardship in minimizing N losses from all kinds of turf-soil systems; 3) Fertilizer sources specified for turfgrass use and controlled released N; 4) Turfgrass N use under different environmental and biological stresses and enhancements of N use efficiency of turfgrasses under these stresses; 5) Turfgrass N use in relation to other applied materials including plant growth regulators, bio-stimulators, and interactions with other soil and environmental factors; 6) Genetic improvement and physiological understanding in N use efficiency for turfgrasses; and finally 7) The importance of N sources for the suitable management at the turfgrass species and cultivar levels.  Conveying the resources to practices may face challenges such as: a) the resources for other crops and plants with limited knowledge and information for turfgrasses; b) the increased expenses and challenges for management; c) obtaining the knowledge and information by practitioners.