Physico-chemical processes in greens profiles III. Diagnosis of agronomic deficiencies

There are many situations in which we can see that something in our lives is not sports surfaces malfunctioning, but diagnosing problems is not easy. The physico-chemical conditions of the soil profile How can we know where the fault lies?

The best way to diagnose turf diseases and deficiencies is to carry out a specialised monitoring of foliar, water and soil analysis, and of some variables such as hardness or infiltration. Not forgetting the visual study of the soil on a daily basis.

This should start with irrigation water, soil and foliar analyses. Through the Piper diagrams we will be able to see if there are anomalous trends between irrigation water and soil water. On the other hand, the foliar analysis will give us information on leaf nutrient levels, but more importantly if there is a deficiency or excess of a particular nutrient. The iron deficiency assimilable in the soil during the cold and wet winter is common. It occurs due to the effect of temperature on its solubility and therefore it is highly recommended the application of Ironto treat the iron chlorosis common in ryegrass and sometimes mistaken for fungal diseases.

The application of foliar fertilisers containing phosphorus is highly recommended in very alkaline soils, where phosphorus solubility is very low.

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Not many years ago it was common to discourage the application of iron for fear of black layer. This management thread has been discarded as iron is not the cause of black layer. The main reason is anaerobiosis. It is therefore recommended to monitor the assimilable iron in the soil and to correct it through foliar and granular application.

The trials to find out the irrigation uniformity and biomechanical testing are also essential. The infiltration test gives us a lot of information about the characteristics of the soil profile, being values below 50 mm/h of concern. Reasons for low infiltration may include :

• Compaction of the profile at different depths, excess felt thickness.
• Sealing layers along the soil profile (silt or clay layers in sandy profiles)
• Inadequate texture or granulometry.
• Inadequate levels of pH,
• High concentration of salts in the soil.

It is common, in turn, to identify a low infiltration rate with an exacerbated increase in sulphate content in the results of soil profile analyses, because sulphates are not very soluble compared to other salts. They therefore precipitate and accumulate in soils that infiltrate poorly, hence the importance of studying all the information together through the big data.

The distribution of porosity in the volume of the soil is also a determining factor in the good condition of the grass. moisture retention curves. This will determine the bulk density, i.e. how heavy or light the soil is.

The most effective diagnosis is one that uses all the databases from the sporting areas and analyses them together through data analysis or big data.

Some tools such as:

• The Sensor POGO with its excellent data management system
• The new team TDR 350, which maintains the precision of its predecessors but with new improvements.
• The sensor of pH fieldScoutwhich, for a very low cost, allows daily soil and water sampling.

These are safe bets for roof maintenance. But even so, we can also perform such services as sampling, reading analysis or audits.

• Audit of sports grounds

• Assessment of Laboratory Analyses