Crops
Turf
Turf is grown on various soil types including clay and clay loams and thrives in sandy loams and sands. The consistent objective of growing and displaying turf is that it must be lush, dry underfoot and with plenty of water reserve in the rhizosphere.
The greenkeeper must work very diligently to balance many inputs in overcoming one of the most serious deficiencies that develops over time: hydraulic conductivity of the soil.
Moss
The cause of poor hydraulic conductivity is most likely attributed to the nature of soil or to excessive thatch build-up of the turf. Both impair the delivery of plant water and nutrients to the roots and promote the appearance of surface moss. Poor hydraulic conductivity is also manifest using heavy machinery on turf farms and the wear and tear associated with golf courses and sports fields alike. Compaction additionally increases infiltration resistance leading to low plant available water and nutrient deficiency.
When excessive hydraulic conductivity is encountered, holding sufficient plant water in the soil profile is problematic and it becomes obvious that loss of nutrients and poor or uniform crop establishment becomes an issue. In these circumstances it is usual to see the frequent application of organic surfactants to try and overcome this problem, but these treatments are only temporary and need to be reapplied often with a lot of irrigation water.
CHT's solution to these issues is to reduce the surface tension of the thatch so that water can flow to the bed and also to increase the charge balance of the bed so that drainage is retarded and the available plant water is increased, therefore reducing the frequency and quantity of irrigation. 
Overcoming moss presence and promoting turf roots to grow vertically is therefore the key objective of CHT's technology of modifying surface tension and charge balance as can be seen in these field trial reports:
- Landscape Irrigation Conference 2019 (18 pages)
- Turf grower Interim Report - (report to be completed soon)
* Please contact us if you would like to be notified when it is ready.
Aqua-Sil products utilize various chemistries that allow turf managers to bridge the gap in their water management and agronomy practices.