Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Aerobic Difference

http://www.biofeedsolutions.com/Aerobic.html

The Aerobic Difference

For both Soil and Water Systems!

For years, turf managers and growers have utilized both chemical and mechanical means to incorporate oxygen into their soils. Many realize that the type biological activity found in their soils is vital to maintaining healthy growth and quality turf grass. Soil scientists agree that this is true. Disease factors found in both plants and water primarily stem from the lack of oxygen. Soils lacking adequate oxygen are known as anaerobic while soils that have adequate oxygen on a consistent basis are referred to as aerobic. Therefore, turf managers often mechanically aerate their soils, using heavy equipment that literally pokes holes into the soil allowing air to penetrate, but this practice is costly and damages the turf.

Delivering oxygen to the root zone is necessary as conditions such as black layer often plague even the best of golf greens and cause putrid odors that resembles rotten eggs. This odor is caused by the over growth or proliferation of anaerobic bacteria such as desulfovibrio and desulfotomatuculum bacteria and/or various blue-green algae or cyanobacteria which produce mucilage that blocks both air and water movement in sandy and clay soils and acts as an energy source for anaerobic bacteria. It is the by-products of these various bacteria and the subsequent toxic soil conditions that occur that have a negative impact on the growth of roots and these have also been found to harbor disease-causing bacteria.

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