Evaluation of an Amino‐Acid‐Based Fertilizer for Grow‐In of Creeping Bentgrass Putting Greens

Turfgrass grow‐in on sand‐based putting greens usually incurs a high risk for nitrogen (N) leakage. Our objective was to evaluate how substitution of a standard mineral fertilizer with an amino‐acid‐based fertilizer affects creeping bentgrass ( Agrostis stolonifera L.) establishment rate and the concentration of nitrate and total N in drainage water. The experiment was conducted from 19 May to 26 July 2016 in the United States Golf Association green field lysimeter facility at Landvik, Norway. The liquid fertilizers arGrow Turf (70% of N as arginine and 30% as lysine) and Wallco (60% of N as nitrate and 40% as ammonium) were applied at ∼2‐wk intervals at the two rates of 1.5 or 3.0 g N m −2 application −1 . Results showed significantly faster grow‐in on plots receiving amino‐acid‐based fertilizer than on plots receiving mineral fertilizers; the average turfgrass coverage 26 d after the first fertilization was 75 and 36%, respectively. In parallel with this, the average concentration of nitrate and total N in drainage water, as well as the total N loss, were all reduced by 40 to 45%. Arginine and lysine at 1.5 g N m −2 gave faster grow‐in than Wallco at 3.0 g N m −2 and was the only treatment in which the drainage water complied with EU's requirements for maximum concentration of nitrate in drinking water.