Fall Fertilization Strategies

When consumers think about fertilizer, spring and summer are what come to mind. This is certainly an understandable thought process since nice weather allows for more time to be spent outside, which highlights the need for a lush, green lawn.

However, fall is actually the most important season of the year for all perennial plants, and this is particularly true for turf grass. Fall is when all of the processes for regeneration and readiness for the following year’s growth come together.

What is past, is past, but what is going to be depends on how well the new roots are formed and whether or not the year-round fertilization program has instilled an adequate mantle of winter hardiness.

Turfgrasses are constantly experiencing culture shock from both environmental and human-induced stresses. Only a turf stand with a deep and vigorous root system will look spring-fresh all season long. The root system becomes a crucial part of a lawn’s healthy appearance because the roots are what send the water, nutrients, enzymes, vitamins and hormones to the leaf blades to keep growth on an even keel when other factors are working hard to bring the whole structure down.

The fall season of each year then becomes payback time for turf. As leaf blade growth slows due to shorter days and cooler nights, roots commence storing carbohydrates that were produced during the photosynthesis process. This storage process is the precursor initiating new root growth. Other factors, especially a good nutrient-rich soil, will favor root formation so long as excessive nitrogen does not over-stimulate top growth.

ALL IMPORTANT NPK. Nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) are the major elements required by all plants. But providing plants with the correct amount and ratio of each nutrient is just as important in order to sustain a healthy turf as it is for developing a high yielding agricultural crop.

Nearly all turf grasses utilize nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in approximately a 3-1-2 to 4-1-2 ratio on an annual basis. This means that turf will use three or four parts nitrogen for every one part of phosphorous and every two parts of potassium. The ratio of nitrogen to phosphorous to potassium is visibly presented on the front of any fertilizer package.

Other nutrients, such as calcium and sulfur, and some trace elements, including iron, magnesium and boron, are important to turf health, but these elements are typically used in much smaller quantities.

A fall application of a 4-1-2 or 3-1-2 turf fertilizer when top growth has slowed and given way to root formation will aid in more vigorous rooting and set the plant up for a healthy start in the spring. Phosphorous, in particular, plays a vital role in the energy plants utilize in all life processes. Potassium, meanwhile, is the chief building block in the structure of plant tissues. Because most leaf growth has slowed by this time, fall is an excellent opportunity to make up for any depletion of either element, especially if the fertilization program has been inadequate to date. (Before beginning a fertilization program for a new customer, contractors may want to consider taking a soil sample from the property and having that sample analyzed by a soil lab to better understand the specific soil conditions they will be working with.)

RECOMMENDATIONS.The following recommendations can be applicable to both cool-season and warm-season turf grass varieties. However, contractors should note that cool-season varieties utilize more nitrogen in the fall months vs. the warm-season turf grasses that have a greater nitrogen requirement in the late spring.

• EARLY-FALL: Apply an NPK fertilizer containing most or all of the nitrogen as ureaform, isobutylidene diurea or polymer-coated urea at 1.5 pounds to 3 pounds nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
• MID-FALL: Apply an NPK fertilizer containing most or all of the nitrogen as methyleneurea or isobutylidene diurea at 1 pound to 2 pounds nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
• LATE FALL: Apply an NPK fertilizer containing most or all of the nitrogen as soluble or sulfur-coated urea at 1 pound to 2 pounds nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.

NITROGEN SOURCES. Fall applications of soluble nitrogen fertilizer are best delayed until after the top growth or leaf blade growth has ceased. Over stimulation of top growth in the fall is counterproductive to root formation. Waiting until November or even December (in southern states) to apply soluble or intermediate slow-release nitrogen sources will assure the presence of a healthy reserve for spring growth while providing minimal risk for leaching loss throughout the winter.

Urea and ammonic nitrogen will not convert to readily leachable nitrate forms when soil temperatures are below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Root formation, however, will continue to take place until the ground is frozen. Delaying these applications until the weather has suitably cooled is also important because warm, moist soil subjects soluble nitrogen to leaching and run off.

Slow-release nitrogen sources should ideally be applied in the early to mid-fall. These products are least likely to over stimulate top growth, and the nitrogen can be beneficial to both the soil and the roots.

Ureaform, for example, releases its nitrogen by means of microbial activity. Microorganisms first use the nitrogen for their own food requirements and utilize the carbon in the carbon-nitrogen linked ureaform polymers for energy. The same principle applies to methyleneurea fertilizers, consisting of more soluble carbon-nitrogen polymers.

In fact, the rate of release of ureaform and methyleneurea fertilizer is governed by solubility – the more soluble these polymers are, the less resistance they provide to microbial degradation. In both cases, the nitrogen is gradually converted to the ammonic form following microbial utilization.

Polymer-coated and sulfur-coated urea fertilizers release urea nitrogen by diffusion through the coating. The more slowly diffused polymer-coated products can be applied in early to mid-fall and they will release the nitrogen slowly enough to minimize the chances for the over stimulation of leaf blade growth talked about earlier. However, as with soluble nitrogen sources, the faster released sulfur-coated urea is best applied in late fall with the benefits being realized the following spring.

The author is a consultant to Nu-Gro Technologies in the fertilizer industry.

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