• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.223-235
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• 2006

Soil testing laboratories unfamiliar with turfgrasses will often overestimate the plant's need for phosphorus and underestimate the need for potassium. This is partly due to differences in rooting between grasses and many garden plants and crops. The grasses are generally more efficient in extracting phosphorus from the soil, reducing their need for phosphorus fertilizer. The fact that crop yield is often the primary objective in field crop production, and is usually of little interest in turfgrass management, may affect soil test interpretation for potassium. Potassium levels above those required for maximum tissue yield of grasses may improve stress tolerance and turfgrasses will usually benefit from higher applications of this element. There are also diffrrences in soil testing philosophies. Some laboratories use the sufficiency level of available nutrients(SLAN) approach, whereas others prefer the basic cation saturation ratio(BCSR) approach. Some will use a combination of the two methods. The use of the BCSR theory easily lends itself to abuse and questionable fertilizer applications and products are sometimes recommended citing imbalances in cation ratios. The usefulness of the BCSR ratio theory of soil testing varies with soil texture and interpretations on tests performed on sand-based media are particularly a problem. Other soil testing problems occur when sand-based media used on sports fields and golf greens contain free calcium carbonate. The ammonium acetate extractant at pH 7.0 dissolves excessive amounts of calcium that can bias cation exchange capacity measurements and measurements of cation ratios. Adjusting the pH of the extractant to 8.1 can improve the accuracy of the testing procedure for calcareous media.