• We need to test the irrigation water source because:

    • We can identify potential issues that would impact the sports turf grass plants health.
    • Elements contained within the irrigation water source, such as sodium, if in excess, can dehydrate the plant.
    • Another example of this would be bicarbonates which reduce the uptake of beneficial elements such as calcium magnesium and potassium, critical for plant strength and health.
    • Water testing enables us to identify what impact the irrigation water has on the sports turf in order to create an accurate road map for plant health.
    • Water testing can red-flag issues that impact disease and plant or growing medium performance.

    Water testing can save money as we can apply the data sourced to influence your Turf Action Plan. Once the correct sports turf nutrition is applied, we will see an increased efficiency and performance in the growing medium.

    Water testing allows us to check a record of data to refer back to, a valuable source of knowledge to quantify improvement and keep us on track.

    Water testing and pH

    pH is a measurement of hydrogen ions. We always have to consider pH when creating a sports turf nutritional programme. With our Ana Lync report, we can see the measurement of pH and alkalinity, these factors are critical for our overall assessment and when designing individual Turf Action Plans.

  • How and when to test your irrigation water

    How and when to test your irrigation water can depend on the water source, this could be mains, bore hole, lake water and collected/reclaimed rainwater.

    Usually we suggest testing annually, however, in the case of lake and collected irrigation water, it can be beneficial to test more frequently due to the fluctuation in quality.

    A 250ml to 500ml sample of the irrigation water should be collected at source. This can be taken during a site visit or sent to our offices independently.

    The samples of irrigation water are then forwarded to the laboratory for testing. As Floratine distributors, our customers have the advantage of utilising the “Ana-Lync” system. We usually turn around results in one working week, for the data to be collected and the Ana-Lync results returned to Agronomic Services Ltd.

    Once we have the data, combined with the soil sample data, we set up a meeting to work through the results and discuss the next steps.