Brian Hickey’s journey into golf course maintenance began with a simple desire to play free golf. "I guess I've always been a golfer, so I thought I'd work at a golf course. I started out actually on this golf course, picking range balls, parking carts, and washing carts. After a year of doing that, I switched over to the maintenance crew and found out that I really liked it.”
This newfound passion led him to further his education at Iowa State University, where he earned a degree in Turf Management. After gaining diverse experience across the country, including 13 years in Oregon, Hickey returned to Iowa to become the superintendent at Palmer Hills, where he has served for the past decade.
Upon his return, Hickey was tasked with enhancing the course's appeal to a broader range of players while maintaining its reputation as a challenging layout. "When I came here, they were looking for innovative ideas to increase how many rounds of golf they were doing. One of the things that my city administrator challenged me to do was to figure out how we could take this golf course and make it more playable for all skill levels."
To achieve this, Hickey implemented a series of strategic modifications aimed at improving playability without compromising the course's integrity. "We started creating additional forward tee boxes and we made the course more playable to a variety of people."
In addition to adding tee boxes, Hickey oversaw the removal of trees that overly narrowed fairways, strategic bunker renovations, and the introduction of The Forge, an innovative 18-hole putting course designed to engage families and promote community involvement.
Embracing Regenerative Turfgrass Management
Hickey's innovations extend beyond superficial changes. Inspired by industry leaders like Chris Tritabaugh at Hazeltine, Dan Dinelli at Northshore CC, and John Quinn in the UK, Hickey embraced a philosophy of regenerative turfgrass management. This approach reduces overreliance on chemicals, instead focusing on promoting overall soil health and ecology.
"Conventional turf grass management often includes very intensive cultural practices. We're a really busy golf course that does a lot of rounds. We don't have a Monday maintenance day or anything like that. It's always been a challenge to try to produce what the country clubs can create without having the extra time to put into the golf course."
To tackle these challenges, Hickey looked for alternative methods to produce high-quality surfaces without disrupting play. "Some of those cultural practices might be verticutting, sand top dressing and core aeration. I typically ask myself, “Are there other methods to be able to produce these high-quality surfaces without disrupting the surface for the golfers that are coming out to enjoy the course that day?””
Notable Results with Biological Products
Through careful experimentation with biological products like Thatch Relief and Bio-Mega, Hickey has achieved notable results, including improved drainage, reduced fungicide applications, and enhanced turf health. "It’s been a win-win for both golfers and the maintenance crew to be able to produce the type of playing conditions with fewer cultural practices."
"Products like Thatch Relief, that is organic, break down the thatch. That makes a lot of sense to me. How do we get there, though? We had to look at ways to reduce our fungicide usage because when I did the research, I found that fungicides kill all fungi, not just the bad fungi, but good and bad together. In a traditionally maintained golf green, you have a very low fungi-to-bacteria ratio, almost zero fungi because of the fungicides being used all the time. My goal was to get the good microorganism populations higher by using a product, Bio-Mega, that contains different fungi in its packaging, as well as good beneficial bacteria. Since making these changes, our fungi-to-bacteria ratio tested 1:1"
By utilizing products like Bio-Mega and Thatch Relief on a regular basis, Hickey has managed to reduce the thatch layer in the greens, which was previously restricting drainage. “We haven’t core aerified our greens in seven years,” Hickey shared. "At one point, we definitely had a thatch layer in our greens that was restricting drainage and that layer is completely gone now. The drainage is really, really good now, and we have push-up greens on most of the golf course. They used to footprint up all the time when golfers would go out there after rains, they don't do that anymore.”
Hickey has also seen a significant reduction in fungicide applications. "We started going with a few products from Soil Tech, so that we could incorporate them slowly into the budget. We observed no disease following a contact fungicide application for 21 – 28 days. This allowed us to save money on spray applications. When I first got here, we did 18 applications of fungicides for the first few seasons. We are now seeing that we're only having to put out about eight fungicides a year. That breaks down to three on fairways and five on greens. That's a significant reduction in fungicide use on our major turf playing surfaces."
Improved Fairway Drainage
Hickey's sustainable practices extend to the fairways as well. "We use TurfTech Bio as a regular ingredient in our soils for our sprays on fairways. Typically, what we're spraying on fairways is a wetting agent and Primo for growth regulation, and then TurfTech Bio. Those are our main three things that we put in the tank. One of the biggest things I've noticed on our fairways is how they drain better."
These practices have led to reduced downtime after rain events. "We have a continuous cart path at Palmer Hills Golf Course, so we can make it cart path only and still get golfers out there right after rain events. Many times when I first came here, we were cart path only for three or four days in a row after a one inch or more rain event. Now we're back to the 90-degree rule after 24 hrs. I feel like the drainage of the golf course is much better. We haven't been spraying the rough, so we can tell exactly where we're spraying because we're draining better on the
fairways, and the only thing we've done differently is putting out the TurfTech Bio."
Reduction in Fertilizer and Labor Costs
Hickey's approach has also led to reductions in fertilizer and labor costs. "We've been able to reduce fertilizer usage as well. The microbes are much more proficient, and they're mineralizing the soil as well as micro and macronutrients. We've been able to cut back on our fertilization, which has allowed us to conserve resources. We've been able to cut back on the core aeration and the labor that's involved with that to redirect the resources to other parts of the golf course."
A Vision for the Future
Looking ahead, Hickey anticipates a broader shift towards more sustainable greenskeeping practices within the industry, driven by both environmental considerations and practical benefits. “I definitely see regulatory pressure coming... It's probably inevitable that it's coming this direction to the United States," he predicts. While acknowledging that completely eliminating chemical use might be challenging, Hickey is optimistic about the potential for a greater focus on soil health and the use of biological products to become standard in the industry. "I see this more natural greenskeeping being a huge part of the industry in the next five years... We're having better playing conditions all the time, and we're doing it in a way that's not hurting the soils."
Brian Hickey's journey from a young golf enthusiast to a pioneering superintendent embodies a commitment to innovation, sustainability, and a deep love for the game. Under his stewardship, Palmer Hills Golf Course stands as a testament to the transformative power of thoughtful, eco-conscious management in the world of golf.
What is our Microp 4XL product all about? How does it work and how can you use it for your own crops? We hope this blog post can answer your questions about this essential agriculture product.
What is Microp 4XL?
Microp 4XL is a biofertilizer that works to improve both the physical and chemical properties of your soil, to better support croplife. Unlike cover crops that must be planted and plowed down to improve soil, Microp 4XL provides all the traditional benefits of a green manure crop without taking land out of production. Instead, Microp 4XL can be planted as a companion microbial crop, improving soil right as your cash crop is growing. The biochemistries produced by the cyanobacteria and microalgae in our product work to increase available soil nitrogen, soil aeration, aggregation, and water holding capacity. Microp 4XL is an ecologically sound means of improving crop yields and soil structure and is approved for use in organic production.
How does Microp 4XL work?
Microp 4XL is composed of two types of microorganisms. Cyanophytes, or blue-green algae, and chlorophytes, or grass-green algae and both are significant to the soil biology. These single-celled organisms are photosynthetic and provide myriad benefits for any soil. The microbes work in a number of ways:
Microp 4XL can be used conceptually as a companion green manure or a cover crop. It can be used as a substitute or addition to compost or other fertilizers. Unlike compost, the microbes in Microp work directly to produce beneficial biochemistries, which means they work to produce soil benefits without a decomposition period.
Our research shows that Microp 4XL improves soil tilth and decreases erosion, compaction, and crusting. In one study, corn crops showed an average increase of 9 bu./acre. In another field trial with organic sugar cane, plots treated with Microp 4XL had over 25% higher yield when compared to untreated plots. Microp 4XL acts as a perpetual input for maintaining maximum crop yields.
How do you use Microp 4XL?
Microp 4XL is easy to use! The product is composed of no less than 640 million live plant cells per gram, packaged in powder form. Mix the dried microalgae powder with water and apply to the soil surface using conventional spray equipment. Circle, wheel-line, hand-line, and flood irrigation systems may also be used. The product does not need to be incorporated. Apply Microp 4XL before or after planting, during the commercial crop’s growing cycle, or after harvest. The standard application is one ounce of the product per acre (70 grams per ha.)
This application can be repeated one to four times per year depending on crop conditions. Microalgae colonize the upper one inch (2.5 cm.) of soil through rapid cell division. With Microp 4XL, this colonization reaches maturity in about 40 days under average field conditions. It is capable of maintaining this high level for an additional 30-60 days if soil conditions support the colony.
At Soil Technologies Corp., we’ve been producing natural agricultural products for more than 30 years. We created Microp 4XL as an efficient, ecological, and safe biofertilizer for achieving maximum crop yields. We also have Microp BG for rice crops and Microp SL for saline soils. Stay tuned for blog posts about these products and more!
“Soil Tech's program fits our mission statement pretty well. I mean, if you look at any mission statement, you're trying to do it cheaper and more responsible and more renewable and all those keywords. But I think we're actually doing it better than most, for sure,” says Jeff Hoste, superintendent of Village Greens Golf Course in Chicago, IL.
Jeff has been a Superintendent for over 20 years. He says “My GCSAA card says 30 so I was an assistant for seven years before that…”
When he first arrived at Village Greens, the general manager was interested in the idea of using biosolids. “He wanted us to put biosolids out everywhere, which we did for a while. Nasty job, and there's a smell associated with it but I was down with turning my brain onto something kind of new. After 20 years, you have to reinvent yourself a couple of times here and there otherwise you'll go crazy, right? It was just something to sink my brain into, obviously, personally and I believe in it. I think God had this figured out a long time ago, and we have, over the years, messed it up to the point where we need to fix it again.”
“So there's a kind of a push from the top to think about it or investigate it. I think it was always there as kind of a building block, but not as a tool, more of a garnishment, you know what I mean? Like a salt and pepper kind of thing in your spray, it wasn't the focus. It was certainly encouraged. So we did that and we brewed our own compost tea and we did a lot of other crazy things.”
Brewing your own compost tea, Jeff says “gets to the point where it’s difficult… But the problem is, in Chicago, it could rain in the middle of summer with very little notice or something would happen that it was spray day and I was ready to go and it's raining outside cats and dogs, so I had to dump it. And then it got to be a logistical problem. I was doing three tanks and it would throw things off to the point where it was a pain. And then I also got Gray leaf spot. That's when I decided that I'm not going to die on the sword for it. So I'm still going to try it, but I've got to throw some chemical out. It was just easier at that point. I knew what I would be getting.”
That’s when Jeff first heard about Bio-Mega and the idea of just using a single product. “There's so many variables that we ultimately just decided to go with you guys exclusively to see what would happen. It started off with Bio-Mega.”
After a full season, Jeff began applying Bac-Pack to his putting greens. “I was hooked because I wasn't seeing any disease anywhere, anytime. I would put Bio-Mega/Bac-Pack down monthly with a few other things. Nothing that would compete. That went on like eight months. I mean, went on all the way to August without having to spray anything. And that was before I knew about the Fungastop. That worked when we had leaf spot in the fairways. So I don't know. You just keep trying, you just keep playing with stuff. The microbiology is doing the work rather than what we would typically rely on. Again, you're not in the driver's seat, you're just trying to get everyone happy again soil-wise and then problems take care of themselves. That’s how it’s supposed to work at least, right?”
UPDATE: At the time of publishing, Jeff Hoste had been able to maintain Village Greens Golf Course with no conventional fungicides throughout the entire 2022 growing season.
Nitrogen fertilizer is an established part of most agriculture and plant care routines. However, new research suggests that long term use of nitrogen may have unintended consequences.
Like many growers, you may already know there are bacteria that work synergistically with plants to make more nitrogen available. Inoculating beans and peas with species specific bacteria to take advantage of this relationship has become common practice for farmers and gardeners. The legumes shelter the bacteria in their roots, providing them with carbon. The bacteria take essential nitrogen and combine it with oxygen or hydrogen, which makes it usable for the plants. It's a partnership, a relationship of mutualists, that has evolved and thrived over time, and the benefits linger into later growing seasons because the fixed nitrogen remains in the soil.
Studying Nitrogen's Influence on Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria
A recent study suggests that long term use of nitrogen may be changing the nature of this partnership. This study looked at 6 different fields, each with 2 experimental plots. One plot in each field had been fertilized with nitrogen for more than two decades. The other plots had never been fertilized and were used as a control.
The researchers took rhizobia from the nodules of legumes in both fertilized and control plots. They used these isolated bacteria in a green house experiment to see how they influenced legume growth and health.
What happened? Well the title of the paper pretty much says it all. "Long-term nitrogen addition causes the evolution of less cooperative mutualists." The scientists found that the plants grown with the nitrogen-exposed Rhizobia produced 17-30 percent less biomass and significantly less chlorophyll than plants grown with the Rhizobia from the unfertilized plots.*
This suggests that long term nitrogen use creates the need for continued nitrogen supplementation—a nitrogen addiction of sorts. And as those fertilizers run off into surrounding lands, that need, the nitrogen addiction, may go with it.
Microp 4XL Offers a Solution
Microp 4XL offers a unique approach to this problem. This Soil Tech product contains cyanobacteria that work like a legume, adding nitrogen from nitrogen fixation. But because Microp 4XL contains cyano (plant like) bacteria, they can easily grow as a companion plant. Growers don't have to take their land out of production to get the benefit of this microbial cover crop and they don't have to buy species specific inoculants either. What's more, growers can use Microp 4XL at any point in their commercial crops' growing cycle.
Application is easy--simply mix the Microp 4XL powder with water and apply it to the soil surface using conventional spray equipment or irrigation. With the slow release of nitrogen from the cyanobacteria, growers will reduce the need for conventional nitrogen fertilizer, bringing immediate financial and long term envirnmental benefits.
Nestled on the east bank of the Fox River in St. Charles, IL, Pottawatomie Golf Course is located in one of the most picturesque parts of the Greater Chicago area and is ranked as the 15th best 9-hole course in the US. Denise Gillet-Parchert has been the golf course superintendent at Pottawatomie for over twenty years.
Regarding how she ended up in the industry, Denise recalls, “I started at Joliet Junior College, and I was going to do floral design. One semester cured me of that! Florists knock themselves out every holiday. They work a million hours before every holiday. I thought, shoot, I don't want to do that. So I took the landscape turf track at Joliet Junior College, and I had to do on-the-job training the freshman year at Cog Hill. I started there just maintaining the flowers and the grounds around the clubhouse. They really liked me there, so they kept me on part-time in the wintertime when I went back to school. I then did my second on-the-job training there, but with the understanding that I did something other than what I did before. So they put me out on the golf course because landscape turf was the same track, the same classes, and I enjoyed it, I liked it and I stayed.”
After working at Cog Hill full-time for four years, Denise held positions at several other courses in the area, including at St. Charles Country Club and Rich Harvest Farms as assistant superintendent. In 1999, she was offered the superintendent's job at Pottawatomie and hasn’t looked back. “May 17th, I will have completed 24 years.”
The location of the course is something that Denise takes very seriously. “We're Audubon sanctioned and we're right next to the river. We're pretty much in town, or just five blocks north of downtown St. Charles. In the back of your mind, every decision you make is, ‘How is this going to affect the environment? How is it going to affect the golfers? How is it going to affect you personally?’ We all want to live long, and you don't want to be using products that you're going to find out cause cancer ten years down the road.”
Denise continues, “I have tried organic (fertilizer), but if I were to put down organic fertilizer, there is a smell to that. You just can't get away from that, and you get complaints left and right about the smell and what you're putting down, and it sends red flags up for everybody. You try telling them that it's organic or it's all-natural products, and it's just a hard sell. So to use something that is quote, ‘good for the environment,’ it kind of came with a stigma of smell.”
Denise came across Soil Technologies’ product line three years ago and purchased enough Thatch Relief and Oasys Ultra to try on her fairways. “I'll be honest with you, the first time I got the products, I didn't use them. I used them the next spring, and things kind of looked pretty good. The way it's applied, because we're so busy at the golf course, from sunup to sundown, we apply it at night, we throw the water down. Nobody knows we've done it. And there's no odor, there's no nothing. And great results. So it's a win-win for everybody, and it's good for the environment.”
2022 saw the program extended to greens as well. "Last year was kind of an anomaly. I think everybody was able to cut back a little bit on their products, but I didn't have a problem with Dollar Spot at all this year (I did three apps on greens and two apps on fairways). And in years past, Dollar Spot was always like my nemesis, that I was constantly spraying for. I believe it's under control now. Whether it's thatch removal, I don't know, but sometimes you don't have to know. You just have to know it works. I don't know whether that's the right statement to make, but sometimes a visual is better than anything: results."
Independent lab testing of her greens revealed that organic matter content was reduced an average of 15.68%. On the feedback she was getting from the lab before using the products, Denise says, "Well, most of the time, the conversation revolved around the pH of the greens. And so it's been strongly suggested to core aerate two times a year. It just isn't possible for us. But the simple fact of the lowering of the organic matter just helps overall with the quality of the greens in the summertime. We have a sand green, four push up greens, one 1:1 mix green, a couple of 80:20 greens. So there's just a plethora of green material or different material for the greens. It's kind of hard to manage nine as one. The sand green we treat a little bit differently. But I found that by lowering the organic matter in the greens overall, it's going to help with irrigation and disease suppression, all of that."
With nearly four decades in the business, Denise shares some final thoughts, "I've been in the industry a long time, and I've worked for a lot of different superintendents or a few superintendents that had different ways of doing things. One superintendent told me, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' And I think that's kind of your product. After seeing the results of your product, I might not know all the science behind it, but I can see the results, and the results are the important thing. If we can put more natural products down and use fewer chemicals, I think that's the trend of the industry, and the more we do that, the less we're going to be accused of poisoning the environment. I think we ought to use more of it. We're going to use more of it."
What is our TurfTech Bio-Mega product all about? How does it work and how can golf course superintendents and other landscape professionals use it to enhance their turf performance? We hope this blog post will answer these questions and inform you about this revolutionary golf and turf product.
What is TurfTech Bio-Mega?
Steve Nichols, Exec. V.P. of Soil Technologies Corp. recently stated, "TurfTech Bio-Mega is a natural extension to our TurfTech branded products. Since 1986, TurfTech products have been trusted by turf managers world-wide to reduce soil compaction, inhibit turf diseases, and cut fertilizer requirements. Now, TurfTech Bio-Mega is available to turf managers who are seeking a total microbial ecosystem for transforming the rhizosphere and improving turf performance under all kinds of challenging conditions."
The TurfTech Bio-Mega formula is an enhancement of the original TurfTech formula that was developed in conjunction with Dr. Fred Williams at Iowa State University during the 1980's. The TurfTech product line was created to provide golf turf managers with an effective, broad-spectrum bio-inoculant used as an alternative to chemical inputs. Research at major turfgrass universities confirmed the efficacy of TurfTech. Data confirmed that TurfTech's nitrogen-fixing organisms could replace part of the fertilizer needed by fine turfs. In addition, research published by the E.P.A., showed that TurfTech was an effective method of reducing soil compaction. Finally, work done in the late 1990's confirmed that TurfTech could reduce the incidence and severity of fungal pathogens of turf.
What Makes TurfTech Bio-Mega Different?
This new TurfTech Bio-Mega formula adds a diverse concentration of beneficial microbials that are known to improve turf rooting, nutrient uptake, and plant health. In addition, Bio-Mega contains a variety of plant-derived substances including steroidal saponins. The impact of these phyto-chemicals, when combined with Bio-Mega’s microbial communities, is a genuine breakthrough based on solid soil science.
With the introduction of TurfTech Bio-Mega, Soil Tech Corp. offers the next evolution in the development of biologically derived products. TurfTech Bio-Mega promises to provide turf managers with an economically feasible method of reducing fertilizer, fungicides, and water requirements while achieving a greener, denser, more vigorous, disease-resistant turf.
How do you use TurfTech Bio-Mega?
Bio-Mega is easy to use! It is shipped as a dry powder. Simply mix the dry powder with 60-100 gallons of water per acre. Agitate the mixture thoroughly to keep the product in suspension for uniform spray coverage. Spray the mixture to the point of dripping on the target plant foliar surface. Water in (irrigate) after application. Spray with pressure at the nozzle greater than 25 lbs. p.s.i. Bio-Mega has the consistency of lime or talc and will pass a standard 60 mesh screen. Because Bio-Mega should not be mixed with chlorinated water, de-chlorinator is provided with each order.
What Can TurfTech Bio-Mega Do?
With TurfTech Bio-Mega you can expect many benefits including:
Check back at our blog frequently to learn more about TurfTech Bio-Mega and our other outstanding products!
Our Customers Say it Best!
We love our products, of course we do! But when our customers love them so much that they take the time to tell us about it--well that’s something extra special.
One of our newest customer testimonials is from Matt Whalen. In a brief video Matt tells us about his experience with Soil Tech’s Bio-Mega. This breakthrough product combines a diverse concentration of beneficial microbials, steroidal saponins and other plant-derived substances to form a total microbial ecosystem.
TurfTech BioMega has increased the root mass on his greens, leading to some real results. His turf has survived everything from vandals to hydraulic leaks to heat. As Matt says, “There’s something going on in the soil and we’re reaping the benefits.”
Take a look here:
Bio-Mega Customer Review (link not working video unavailable)
Want more product info? Click here.
Questions or comments? Tell us all about it in the comments section.
A new soil test is revealing that many farmers may need less fertilizer than they thought to keep their crops healthy.
According to a recent article in Capital Press. Richard Haney, a soil scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory in Temple Texas, has designed a test to measure the amount of organic nitrogen and phosphate in soil. According to Haney, other tests measure inorganic nitrogen, but miss the organic variety. However, since good soil biology makes the organic nitrogen available for plants, organic nitrogen should be taken into account when estimating fertilizer needs. Haney’s test does just that.
In recent years, many farmers and ranchers have been won over by Haney’s methods and his methods are being touted by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Haney has now tested more than 22,000 US soil samples and says he’s never heard from any farmer who cut back on fertilizer based on his test results and experienced a nutrient deficiency. On the other hand, some farmers are understandably upset. “I can’t tell you the number of farmers I get who are mad,” Haney said. “they’ve been over-fertilizing for their whole careers, and they feel like they’ve been duped.”
Make sure your soil test takes into account both organic & inorganic forms of nitrogen, and read the full article here.
What is nitrogen fixation and why is it important for your crops? How can plants absorb nitrogen and benefit from it? Here we’ll discuss the process of nitrogen fixation and its importance as an essential plant nutrient.
The Importance of Nitrogen
Nitrogen is an element found in greatest abundance in the air of our atmosphere. As a relatively inert element, it creates few compounds with other elements. Nitrogen is essential to the growth of living things, but most organisms cannot absorb nitrogen if it’s not combined with another element. Plants absorb nitrogen in two forms, nitrates and aqua ammonia.
In order to achieve these plant-available forms, nitrogen goes through “fixation,” a microbiological metabolic process essential to the nitrogen cycle and to successful plant absorption. Fixation naturally occurs with the help of microorganisms. At Soil Technologies Corp., our Microp products are composed of natural nitrogen fixing microorganisms in concentrated quantity, used as a soil inoculant, for ultimate support of nitrogen availability in the farm field.
How Nitrogen Fixation Works
In the process of fixation, the nitrogen in the air is reduced through enzymatic processes in the cell of a microorganism. Nitrogen gets reduced to aqua ammonia (NOH4), one of the compounds that plants can use. The intake of nitrogen through aqua ammonia benefits the chemistry of the plant as well as that of the soil in which it grows.
A common group of microorganisms that initiate nitrogen fixation are of the genera Rhizobium, Azotobacter, and Clostridium. The family of cyanobacteria, which is often referred to as blue-green algae, is an important type of microorganism that performs nitrogen fixation. Cyanobacteria function like plants, performing photosynthesis, rather than feeding on other organic matter, to create energy. They are free living (host independent) and are an important type of bacteria that can reduce atmospheric nitrogen into aqua ammonia.
A special thick-walled cell in the chain structure of cyanobacteria contains the enzyme nitrogenase, produced within this special cell’s unique oxygen-free environment. The cell wall will not take in oxygen from the air it comes in contact with, but it will take in nitrogen. The nitrogenase enzyme is what converts the incoming nitrogen to its liquid, plant-available form. The cyanobacteria organism secretes its accumulated supply of aqua ammonia into the soil chemistry. This process is typically referred to as biofertilization.
How We Harness Biofertilization
At Soil Technologies Corp., we use these same cyanobacteria found in nature in our Microp products. Hundreds of millions of living cyanobacteria cells are contained in the powdered product, which is mixed with water and applied to the soil surface. The large quantity of cyanobacteria perform essential nitrogen fixation alongside your regular crop, occupying the upper inch of soil, through rapid cell division they functionally work to improve soil conditions and plant growth. Biofertilization can thus replace or accompany compost or other fertilizers for your land.
Unlike a cover crop, the cyanobacteria in Microp works while your regular crop is growing, without the need to plow or wait for a decomposition period. The microorganisms and plants work together as they both perform photosynthesis. The bacteria takes in air and produces nitrogen that the plant can absorb, plus secretes copious quantities of polysaccharide biochemistry. This, in turn, improves soil structure and aids in the plant’s growth throughout the season. When the bacteria eventually die, further nitrogen, carbon, and other nutrients are distributed to the soil.
At Soil Technologies Corp., we’ve been producing natural agricultural products for more than 30 years. We understand the science behind essential plant nutrients and trust the power of microorganisms to naturally fix nitrogen. This is why we’ve created Microp and other products to help soil and plants thrive from year to year.
What are biopesticides and how are they used? How do they differ from synthetic pesticides for the health of your plants? In this blog post, we’ll answer a few basic questions about these important biochemicals.
What are biopesticides?
Biopesticides are materials with pesticidal properties that originate from natural living organisms, including microorganisms, plants, and animals. There are three major classes that biopesticides fall into:
Microbial pesticides: These biopesticides are produced by microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and certain fungi. Each type of microbial pesticide targets a specific species or small group of species. It is common that microbial pesticides control a large variety of pests.
Biochemical/herbal pesticides: These are substances naturally occurring in the environment that control pests. This could include plant extracts that lure and trap insects or insect pheromones that interfere with mating. It may include botanical extractions that are active against plant disease pathogens and other pests.
Plant-Incorporated Protectants (PIPs): These pesticides are produced from plants as a result of another genetically incorporated material added to that plant (aka GM crops). While this application of pesticides originates from natural material, it also interferes with the natural biochemistry of the target organism and is thus widely contested.
As a natural pesticide choice, natural microbial and biochemical pesticides are the type commonly used by farmers and growers to control an existing pest problem, because they can be applied like synthetic pesticides but without the toxic damage. Here at Soil Technologies Corp., we utilize natural microbial and biochemical pesticides in our products to effectively target pests in an environmentally sound way. Let’s focus a little more on these types of biopesticides and how they work.
Microbial and biochemical pesticides are increasingly used as soil amendments or seed treatments that will target the necessary area of the plant. When microorganisms are added to the soil/plant complex they release families of biochemical molecules to a targeted environment, such as the surface of the leaf or stem or in the root rhizosphere. The pesticidal properties of the microbial biochemical excretions then aid the plant in its affected areas.
The most widely used microbial pesticide are types of the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt. Each strain of bacterium produces different proteins that are toxic to certain insects, specifically targeting insect larvae.
Naturally derived materials such as copper, baking soda, sesame oil, clove oil, rosemary oil and canola oil are also considered biopesticides.
Advantages of biopesticides
So why use biopesticides when you can buy other synthetic pesticides anywhere? For one, biopesticides have simply been known and understood for millions of years. This means that plants are well familiar with and responsive to biopesticides, without major adverse side effects. Also, natural microbial and biochemical materials are common to our global ecology and are easily processed in our ecology with minimal probability of environmental imbalance.
This is the significant difference from synthetic pesticides. Plants and other living organisms are not accustomed or responsive to synthetic molecules, and this unfamiliarity results in rejection or negative reaction and side effects. The plant doesn’t know how to store these synthetic chemicals, so its cells can become cancerous, growing abnormally and causing mistakes in normal biological function.
Biopesticides also show a number of other advantages over synthetic pesticides, including:
More renewable
In short, biopesticides prove to be a predictable and less toxic form of pest control compared to the less predictable and more toxic conventional synthetic pesticides.
At Soil Technologies Corp., we’ve been producing natural agricultural products for more than 30 years. We understand the chemistry behind pesticidal materials and how plants respond to them. This is why we’ve created products that use the power of biopesticides to control pests and help plants thrive from year to year.
Q: Will I Be Able to See the Microp Cyanobacteria as it Grows?
A: Keep in mind that Microp is a microscopic based microbial technology. Even after some weeks of population growth the colonies of microbes are still most commonly microscopic in nature. The cyanobacteria in the formulation do form chains of cells and will sometimes appear in small colonies or clumps. Cyanobacteria most commonly occupy the lower or bottom of a flooded environment, such as a rice field. (They normally do not suspend in the water, nor do they often float on top.) The single celled Chlorophytes in the formula will suspend in the water much more easily than the cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are quite dark green (almost looks black green sometimes). Chorophyte algae are green.
Q: How Soon Can I Expect Microp to Have an Effect on My Crop?
A: The production of nitrogen and other beneficial organic chemistries from Microp is a slow release type of process. The cyanobacteria population resulting from in-field growth of the cyanobacteria in Microp will begin to produce nitrogen in the field within the first week or so after application and will continue to do so for the life of the crop. This daily production of nitrogen, in the language of fertilizers, is like a slow release process. This creates the opportunity for much more efficient use of nitrogen by the plant, compared to the usual chemical fertilizer dosages of nitrogen, where much is often lost to the environment (the air and to the subsoil or removed by the flowing flood waters) and the plants then do not utilize all the chemical nitrogen contribution. This loss of chemical nitrogen contribution creates problems in the environment. With Microp, it may be possible to decrease the rate and/or frequency of nitrogen applications.
Q: When Will I Be Able to Measure the Effects of Microp?
Nitrogen fixing bacteria can literally make nitrogen out of thin air! If you have these soil-based powerhouses in your soil, they will fertilize your plants for free. If you want to know more about the details of this process and how to make it work for you, read on.
There are several common soil bacteria that are capable of taking atmospheric nitrogen from the air and soil. Upon absorbing nitrogen as a gas, nitrogen-fixing-bacteria change it into nitrate or ammonia. Both nitrate and ammonia are plant absorbable forms of nitrogen that a plant can use. Plants use this nitrogen primarily to produce plant proteins.
The enzyme that is responsible for this nitrogen reduction process is called nitrogenase. It is found in specialized cells and microbial colony environments where there is no oxygen. Oxygen is known to destroy this enzyme through oxidation processes. There are many types of bacteria that can create specialized oxygen-free zones where they create nitrate and amonia.
Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria that Live on Plant Roots
The grandfather of microbial nitrogen fixation is the bacteria in the genus Rhizobia.
These bacteria form a symbiotic relationship with only legume plants, like soybeans, green beans, clover, and alfalfa. They form nodules on the root system.
Inside the nodule is an oxygen free zone where the nitrogenase enzyme reduces atmospheric nitrogen to nitrate and ammonia. The bacteria and the plant have a mutually beneficial relationship. The bacteria take certain food sources from the plant and in return they provide nitrogen to the plant.
(In this image you can see nitrogen-fixing nodules on clover roots.)
Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria that Live in the Soil
Another important type of bacteria that has the ability to provide nitrogen to plants is Cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are beneficial bacteria in the soil that are free living. Cyanobacteria do not form nodules on plant roots. Instead, they work within the soil.
Nostoc commune is one type of cyanobacteria that can take nitrogen from the atomosphere and soil and transform it into nitrogen that plants can use. These cyanobacteria grow as chains of cells. On the chain, some of the microscopic cells will form what are called heterocysts. Inside the heterocyst is an oxygen free zone. The heterocyst is the place where the nitrogenase enzyme reduces atmospheric nitrogen to plant available ammonia. This ammonia is released into the soil chemistry and is then absorbed by plants.
The Easy Way to Use Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria
Although it may sound complicated, the bottom line is simple: If your soil is rich in nitrogen fixing bacteria, your plants will require much less nitrogen fertilizer.
Soil Tech manufactures and sells the product, Microp, which is based on cyanobacteria as a biofertilizer soil inoculant. OMRI listed for use in organic agriculture, Microp is the easy way to put the power of nitrogen fixing bacteria to work for your plants.
Mike Kitchen is a superintendent at Teton Pines Golf & Country Club which is near the Teton National Park and the Yellowstone Valley. He loves his job and the management team at Teton Pines, but like every job, his position does have its challenges.
A few years back, Mike was approached by a local environmental group called Friends of Fish Creek (FOFC). Fish Creek is a major tributary of the Snake River and runs through the Teton Pines Golf property. The FOFC mission is to enlist local stakeholders to adopt Best Management Practices (BMP) to help protect the Upper Snake River watershed by improving and restoring water quality in Fish Creek. In recent years there had been several instances of algae blooms and other indicators of excessive nutrient loads in the creek. “I began to think about things we could do differently here. As part of our initiative to try and reduce our fertilizer applications, I was contacted by Soil Tech’s rep Xavier Dupoux. As a rule, I’m not a snake oil guy, but what I heard from Xavier about Soil Tech’s experience over the past 30+ years, that got my attention,” says Mike. After discussing Soil Tech’s bio fertilizers, Bio-Min and Bio-Mega, with his assistant, they decided to do a trial in 2014.
“We did a test where we used Bio-Min on selected fairway areas with 30% less fertilizer, and compared it to areas that we fertilized as usual. We followed the recommended Bio-Min program during the season and at the end of the year, we couldn’t determine any difference in turf quality in the test plots,” Mike notes. As a result, Mike decided to use the Bio-Min program on all his fairway areas in 2015 & 2016.
“We’ve been very impressed with the results. We’re maintaining a quality stand of grass and we’re using 30% less fertilizer (21-0-24). In addition, we’ve noticed that areas where we had regularly had disease breakouts at the end of the summer just aren’t as bad as they had been. In 2016 it didn’t seem nearly as prevalent as previous years,” he observed.
“From a budgetary perspective, the savings in fertilizer is just about a break-even with the cost of the Bio-Min program,” declares Mike. “But, when you add in the environmental benefits and the suppression of diseases, then the Bio-Min program is a no-brainer for us here at Teton Pines. Being in the shadow of Teton National Park and near the Yellowstone Valley, we are under lots of environmental scrutiny. We are definitely benefitting from the use of Soil Tech’s bio-fertilizers and we will continue using the programs in the future. It’s the right thing to do,” Mike sums up.
We are excited to let you know that Soil Tech's Microp is now officially listed with OMRI, the Organic Materials Review Institute.
That means Microp can be used in organic production according to the USDA National Organic Program Rule.
Soil Tech products have always been formulated with purity and the environment in mind, and this listing is a reflection of that commitment. Microp harnesses the power of cyanobacteria to improve soil quality without taking the land out of production.
Used like a cover crop, between rows of cash crops, Microp leads to increased plant vigor and decreased fertilizer needs.
You can see the OMRI certificate and read more about Microp here.
“I’ll never forget the day many years ago, when we were visited by a USGA representative from Florida. His comment was that, l’d never be able to grow grass on our 5th tee. It’s just too shady for Bermudagrass.”
When Richard McDanel, C.G.C.S. tells this story, he gives a little laugh. “The 5th tee is beautiful today. And we still have Bermudagrass and it only gets about 3 hours of sunlight a day.” After more than 25 years at Pine Lake Country Club in Charlotte N.C., Richard has seen and heard plenty.
Realizing that the 5th tee area would need some extra TLC, Richard decided to try out some mycorrhizal products to see how they could help the agronomic situation. “I started with granular fertilizers that had a little mycorrhizae in them but, I was never really sure if anything was happening. A lot of those products don’t specify the shelf-life of the mycorrhizae, and some others don’t even list what organisms are in the product and/or how many. Plus, I was never sure how long they’d been in the warehouse before they got to us here at Pine Lake.”
“When I heard about Soil Success from Soil Tech I liked that it was a sprayable material with a definite shelf-life and it has a very clear list of all the species and the concentration of each,” he continues. “When we started using Soil Success, we started seeing improvements right away, and it’s gotten better every year.”
Richard describes how he uses the product, “I only apply it once a year in the spring. I want to see everything moving before I spray it out. I mix it up in a slurry in a bucket first, and then take and spray it out. It’s the only thing that I do different on those areas, and it’s our biggest success on tees.”
As proof of that point, Richard describes his tees over last winter when the extreme cold had caused widespread damage in the area. “Our tees came through great…with no turf loss due to winter kill. I think the Soil Success is great stuff. I’d highly recommend it to other superintendents.”
Jim Evans GCS, has groomed and maintained the 18 holes at Turnberry Golf Club in the Village of Lakewood IL for the past 30+ years. During his tenure, the course has played host to several USGA, CDGA and PGA events including the Illinois Open, and US Open Qualifying. Professionals and amateurs alike have commented on the condition of the course and its’ consistent greens.
Recently, Jim was interviewed by Xavier Dupoux, the USA National Golf Course Sales Manager for Soil Tech Corp. The following are Jim’s comments about Soil Techs’ biological product, Bac-Pack.
“I know that since we started using Bac-Pack on greens we’ve lowered the amount of fungicide we’re using. Last year, I think we did six apps of fungicides on greens for the whole year and we used to do 8 or 9 or 10. So it’s definitely reduced our fungicide usage, but we’ve also seen an improvement in the quality of the greens.
"When we had a nematode infestation, like 4 years ago, we started using Bac-Pack and within a month we started seeing the greens healing up. It started greening up and filling in all the areas. And then we started taking root samples to determine that the roots were regenerating. Before that we were getting roots where the nematodes were, at one inch. After the Bac-Pack apps we started seeing more root development. The greens just started healing up and filling in. It took all the stress off of them.
"Before the Bac-Pack apps we were doing wetting agents and hand-watering, anything we could do to try to get water into the greens and try to get them to heal up, and that wasn’t working! So, we used the Bac-Pack and they just started healing up. And for the last 4 years or 5 years, whenever we’ve used it, we’ve been doing it every 3 weeks and we haven’t seen any more problems with nematodes or severe thinning areas. It’s just healed up.
"I see the quality of turf is just so much better. The density is better, the overall health of the grass is just greener, healthier, thicker. The density has improved tremendously. The uniformity has improved. Golfers will say, “all these greens are the same….they all putt the same”. Because they’re so uniform, every green is just basically the same. They all look the same, they all putt the same.
"Golfers have noticed. The Chicago District Golf Assn. came out last week and rated the course and they noticed how uniform, they were all putting at 9.0-9.5 uniformly. It’s made managing these greens so much easier. Less input, less work, and just made it easier. It’s been a huge benefit for us.
"And disease control too. I think we’ve seen, before we started using this product, we we’re having trouble with anthracnose. In these areas that were thin, we were seeing a lot of anthracnose infections in the summer, we haven’t seen any of them in 4 years. We don’t treat for anthracnose any more. I don’t know what happened, where it went, but the turf is just healthier and maybe it’s just being able to fight it off more readily.
"Initially, we started doing it every 2 weeks at a pint per acre. And I think it took probably a good 4-5 weeks before we really started noticing how much better the greens started looking. The 16th green was always our worst green and it ended up being our best green. It just turned around within a month. We were trying to figure out why this was happening. We didn’t change anything else in the program other than Bac-Pack. I talked to my son one day, we were driving around, and I said I think this Bac-Pack is what’s providing us this quality turf. I didn’t have any other answer for it.”
"So, then we just continued to use it every year, we put it in the program with Bio-Mega and some wetting agents to try to get it to go down more readily. That seems to really helped get it into the soil more readily. It’s been easy to incorporate into our program, because we are going out every 2-3 weeks anyway. We just put it into the tank. That’s the primary thing we’re doing now: Bio-Mega, Bac-Pack, a wetting agent, and if we need a fungicide, we’ll put it in there, but if we don’t, we just leave it out. That’s why we’ve reduced our amount of fungicide apps over the years.
"It fit in with our budget, in fact it helped reduce our budget. As far as the amount of chemicals we’re using. To me it was a no-brainer. It’s providing some real benefits at a lower cost. That’s the way I look at it. It’s saving us money. We’re definitely saving $5000, maybe $10,000 in a year.”
“I sprayed a tank-mix with Oasys Ultra and Thatch Relief and within about a week and a half, two weeks, I noticed a huge difference. It was like being on a different planet! The feel of the surface when you walked on it, to the receptivity of the shot, to the speed of the greens. The speeds went up probably 2 ½ to 3 ½ feet, we couldn’t even believe the response we got.”
- Chris Black, PGA pro and owner/operator at Hickory Grove Golf Course in Oelwein Iowa.
“I’m always looking for new ways to improve our turf and playing surfaces for our members and guests. We came across Liquid Aeration from Soil Tech and I thought, this could be a great program for us. One of the things that I dislike the most is aerifying. I think it hurts our revenue, members don’t like it, guests don’t like it, and certainly our staff doesn’t like it, it adds to our workload. It takes away time, money, things like that” says Chris.
Continuing, he states that, “These greens were built in 1967. They’re push-up style greens, native soil with a little bit of poa annua grass in there with mostly bentgrass. They just love this stuff! In a very practical sense, it would cost us $100-$200 per green just to aerify, clean it up and do all that extra work. The Liquid Aeration products that I put out cost about $160 worth of product (total for all the greens), and we didn’t have any of that extra work. It just makes economic sense. The members like it, our guests love it, it just really helped us a lot. I really appreciate these products.”
Describing the process, Chris continues, “What I did was, I applied the Oasys Ultra and the Thatch Relief and I kinda went outside the box with my application rate. I was very aggressive because I wanted to really get after it. Knowing that I probably wouldn’t hurt anything.”
One of the other key personnel at Hickory Grove Golf is Mike Lewis. Mike adds, “I’m the head golf coach at Upper Iowa University and I’m also a co-owner here at Hickory Grove. I’ve been the golf coach for about 9 years, been involved with this golf course for about 15 years now.”
Mike follows up on Chris’ comments, “After the application of the Liquid Aeration products, about a week and a half later, myself and my players saw an increase in green speeds which we had been looking for. To prepare our student-athletes for competition, such as going to famed golf courses like Cog Hill over in Chicago, we needed to get the greens speeds up. So that will help the players when they travel to other courses. Also, after the applications of the products, that thatch layer basically was gone. We’re seeing the ball react more like what we are used to (at other courses), which is a great thing to see for my players and for myself, playing wise.”
To wrap up, Chris offers the following, “I would like to strongly suggest that all the G.M.’s, P.G.A. professionals, and golf course superintendents, give this Liquid Aeration program a try. You will not be disappointed. It’s not a huge price, but you’ll save a ton. So good luck in your future, give it a shot.”
We are excited to let you know that Soil Tech's Permatrol is now officially listed with OMRI, the Organic Materials Review Institute.
Permatrol is a spray for Powdery mildew that is labeled for all crops, including grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, flowers and ornamentals. The label includes open field, greenhouse, and shadehouse grown plants as well as nursery stock. Permatrol is composed of natural compounds originating from botanical sources.
Now that Permatrol is OMRI listed, it can be used in organic production according to the USDA National Organic Program Rule.
Soil Tech products have always been formulated with purity and the environment in mind, and this listing is a reflection of that commitment.
You can see the OMRI certificate and read more about Permatrol here.
