A new article about the minimum levels for sustainable nutrition (MLSN) guidelines has been published in the January 2014 issue of the Spanish greenkeepers association magazine.

In the article, I wrote about 4 things these guidelines are designed to do:

1. To ensure the grass is supplied with enough nutrients.
2. To ensure that excessive amounts of fertilizers are not applied.
3. To allow for calculation of a sustainability index for each nutrient, comparing the amount of a nutrient in the soil at a site to the distribution of that nutrient in a wide range of turfgrass soils.
4. To be continually updated and shared as new information is added to the dataset from soils around the world.

The MLSN guidelines are unique among turfgrass nutrient guidelines in that they are explicitly site-specific. By looking at the estimated plant uptake of nutrients for a particular site, comparing that to the amount of nutrients in the soil, and then checking to make sure the amount remaining in the soil will be at or above the MLSN guideline, this approach is a simple, logical, and rigorous approach to understanding turfgrass nutrient requirements.

For more information on the MLSN guidelines, the Global Soil Survey, and turfgrass nutrient requirements, see:

• MLSN article in Golf Course Management magazine
• Global Soil Survey project to refine and validate these guidelines
• Using temperature to predict turfgrass growth and nitrogen use
• Article about growth potential in Spanish greenkeepers magazine 
• Understanding turfgrass nutrient requirements
• Video: Minimum Levels for Sustainable Nutrition, the calcium guideline