Stress damage arrives quickly, and whether it’s caused by a long stretch of heat, extensive traffic, or something else, the result usually looks the same. The course looks ill, recovers slower, and has weaker density.
After stress strikes, the recovery of your course depends on two factors: 1.) water getting where it needs to go; and 2.) turf that has the nutrients it needs to recover.
HydroPak soil surfactants help optimize moisture placement in the soil profile, while Foliar-Pak’s foliar nutrition products help support plant recovery and resilience above and below the surface.
Water Problems Make Recovery Harder
Poor moisture distribution makes things worse for stressed plants. If irrigation water is not moving evenly into the profile, or if it is hanging up in the wrong place, recovery will slow. A soil surfactant will aid in the infiltration and retention of water.
For instance, HydroPak Percolate NextGen features a unique chemistry that delivers quicker wetting of soil for faster results, more uniform moisture distribution, improved re-wetting, deeper movement of water into the soil profile, and a firmer soil surface.
There is also HydroPak Matador, which reduces water repellency by breaking down the hydrophobic coatings found in certain soil profiles, allowing them to retain moisture on their own. For superintendents dealing with drought and issues with water reaching the soil profile, Matador is an excellent option.
Recovery Is Much More Than Color
Once the moisture aspect is handled, the next step is helping the plant recover. Foliar-Pak’s foliar nutrition products do just that. They focus on enhancing protection, stress tolerance, and recovery, as well as delivering consistency under heat, drought, and traffic stress.
Foundation Forty, in particular, will help make the plant more tolerant to stress. The amino acids in the product assist with carbohydrate production and storage, so the plant has the energy reserves it needs to survive periods of stress. Foundation Forty also improves nutrient uptake ability by increasing the amount of metabolites in the plant’s stomatal guard cells. That increase helps open the pores, allowing for better uptake of inputs; it also helps enhance the efficacy of many tank-mix combinations. As a bonus, Foundation Forty’s amino acids play a critical role in chlorophyll synthesis, giving the plant a deeper, greener color.
Foliar-Pak CSi L, a highly concentrated liquid silicon source, is another excellent option that delivers more upright growth, smoother surfaces, and better wear tolerance during peak play windows. We spoke with a superintendent who said, “Ever since we started with CSi L, our courses have taken abuse better. You see better stress recovery, and often you see stress just not happening.”
Foliar-Pak Minors is a micronutrient formulation that delivers increased photosynthetic efficiency and corrects micronutrient deficiencies. The formulation’s low-molecular-weight plant metabolites allow for movement through the stomatal pores and trans-cuticular pores, while the high-molecular-weight modified plant metabolite chelates the micronutrients for secondary uptake through the soil. This engineered redundancy ensures rapid uptake in all growing conditions.
Better Together
Surfactants help correct the moisture side of the problem, while foliar nutrition helps the plant respond better to stress once conditions improve. That being said, keep in mind that there will not be an immediately noticeable improvement. Solving what is happening in the soil and building up the plant’s defenses takes time. These products are designed to truly improve conditions and support the plant as it works back toward density, consistency, and playability.
If you have questions about how these products can improve your course’s stress tolerance and recovery, reach out to your ATS rep today.
