Biological amendments to golf courses do not take into account fungicide use
I love off the cuff marketing statements such as “the turf management practice that does most damage to soil microbes, is synthetic fertilisation”. Not fungicides or any of the wide range of chemicals and wetting agents that are used in the turf industry but synthetic fertilisers. When it’s taken into account that this statement is made by a company that is promoting its own range of biologically enhanced fertilisers in direct competition to these “bad boys” one does tend to be a touch cynical. This same company also conveniently fails to mention the impact of fungicides that they supply on soil microbial populations. But why let that get in the way of a good story! The turf industry is unique for a whole host of reasons but one of the key ones is that quite often turf managers are trying to grow grass in a completely unnatural environment . A USGA spec golf green for example, is not a natural environment and in reality it can be best described as a hydroponic medium which