Reducing Mowing and Fertilizing with Polymer Coated Urea in Kentucky Bluegrass.

Reducing Mowing and Nitrogen Fertilization with Polymer Coated Urea in Kentucky Bluegrass

 Jessica Buss, Curtis Ransom, Lloyd Sutton, Trenton Blair, and Bryan G. Hopkins, Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer increases turfgrass verdure but also increases maintenance costs due primary to mowing. A two-year study was initiated April 2014. Polymer coated urea(PCU; Agrium One Ap) was applied to both sand and loam soils in Provo, UT at 25, 50, 75 and 100% of the recommended full rate and compared to a 50% rate of urea split monthly. Height and verdure (as measured by NDVI) measurements were taken on a weekly basis. PCU had an average of 21% less shoot height than urea split applied. Verdure was statistically the same for the 50, 75, and 100% rates of PCU compared to urea. Verdure for the 25% rate of N applied as PCU was less than the other treatments, but the effect was somewhat minimal. The effect was generally the same for both sand and loam, although the magnitude of the difference was relatively greater for sand. This ongoing study will continue and include fall applications and a second year of data collection.