SOIL OXYGEN with AGRIOX

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Under normal environmental conditions, turf respiration enables roots to absorb soil oxygen, water and nutrients for transport to above ground planttissue. Plant roots absorb oxygen both from soil macropores and from oxygen dissolved in soil moisture. Accordingly, this oxygen has two means of introduction to the soil: mechanical aerification and water. Of the two sources, water will have less carbon dioxide and more oxygen dissolved in it, thus making it better suited to promote plant growth. Most superintendents haven’t focused on enhancing the oxygen content of soil moisture because the technology was lacking prior to the development of Agriox (Visit Agriox.com) . It is this fundamental advancement that allows our oxidizing agent to release molecular oxygen directly into the root zone, eliminating the atmospheric loss that dramatically reduced previous products’ efficacy.

Since oxygen diffusion through water is approximately 10,000 times more limited than through air, your greens’ ground water must contain as much dissolved oxygen (DO) as possible in the root zone as the water will seal those areas off, forming a membrane of moisture. Frequent irrigation, poor drainage, and microbial respiration in the root zone often result in a lowering of available soil oxygen as macropore and micropore spaces both are filled with water containing minimal amounts of DO. As temperatures and humidity increase, the respiration rate of the plant does as well, leading to increased oxygen use. Once the existing DO is depleted, the plant’s health declines.

It is critically important to consider how low soil oxygen levels affect the plant’s ability to uptake the nutrients you are providing it. Due to the biologically mediated process of denitrification (essentially the nitrogen cycle in reverse), turfgrass will use nitrates or other oxidized forms of nitrogen as the terminal electron acceptors for respiration instead of oxygen. This can even happen in a root zone that isn’t commonly considered anaerobic. As soil temperatures rise, nitrogen losses will increase as the turf’s elevated respiration triggers more denitrification and a decreased efficiency in fertilizer use.

Agriox works in conjunction with the need of the soil (the lower the pH and/or the higher the temperature, the more soluble it becomes) and helps to mitigate such limiting factors. This is an important part of the product’s value to take into account when considering adding it to your program. (You needn’t change any aspect of your routine otherwise.) The better utilization of nutrients is where you will begin to see a reduction of your overhead expenses, but the savings will continue to grow as your soil ecology becomes a less and less stressful growing environment.

Agriox is a slow release soil oxygen product designed to enhance the “living” nature of soil ecologies. The application of Agriox will enhance microbial populations, nutrient and water uptake and plant health for better sustainability.