Time to Fertilize Your
Warm-Season Lawn Grasses

For Immediate Release


Fertilize Warm Season Lawns in April

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (March 22) -- April is the time to fertilize your
warm-season lawn grasses such as Bermuda grass or Zoysia.
Dr. Hugh Savoy, a University of Tennessee soil fertility specialist,
cautions to be sure and choose the right soil amendments for your specific
soil and apply them only in needed amounts. "The information needed to
correctly choose which soil amendments are needed and "how much" to apply
can only be provided through soil testing," he said. Soil testing
information is available through your county Agricultural Extension office.
Savoy also said displays are located at many garden supply stores in
Jackson, Chattanooga, Lawrenceburg and Knoxville as part of a pilot program
to reach home owners.
Savoy said the public can access the UT Soil Testing Laboratory in
Nashville. "It provides dependable service using the most appropriate
quality control measures, updated equipment, research-based fertilizer
recommendations and timely delivery of results. In fact, soil test reports
can now be received over the internet by simply providing your email
address on the Soil Testing Information sheets available at your local
county Extension office," he said.
According to Savoy, failure to apply the right amount of material is
a common problem. "Concentrated fertilizer materials are very easily and
commonly over used, resulting in increased weed and disease pressures as
well as greater potential for pollution of our surface and ground waters,"
he said. New recommendations from UT suggest exactly the right amount of
specific fertilizer materials to use per unit area of your lawn. The
information is also available through the county Extension offices.
Savoy cautions about relying on visual assessments. "For concentrated
materials it will always appear that you haven't applied enough," he said.
"While for less concentrated materials like agricultural limestone a sight
assessment will usually result in under application."
Savoy also warns that it is important to be aware of the weight of
material being applied per unit area. "Calibrate your spreader properly or
flag off areas of known size when applying lime and fertilizer materials,"
he said.

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Contacts: Hubert J. Savoy, Jr., (865) 974-7266
Patricia Clark McDaniels, 865-974-7141


More photos Read more!

EDUCATION COST RISING AT ALARMING RATE

In the last decade, Tennessee has moved to a tuition-driven economy
for higher education. During this period, tuition revenues have risen at a
rate three and one-half times the rate of inflation, as estimated by the
U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI). Whereas the CPI increased 45.9% during
this period, tuition revenues at UTK increased by 164%, at UT Martin by
165% and at the College of Veterinary Medicine by 229%. Increases in
tuition revenues were driven primarily by double digit percentage increases
in tuition during several years of the decade, not by significant increases
in enrollment.
"During the same period, state-appropriated funding for several UT
units increased at about 70% of the rate of inflation?increases ranged from
26% to 43%, depending on the budgetary unit. In other words, the state
began to shift the burden for funding higher education from the taxpayers
to the students. This resulted in a drop in the percentage of the state
budget allocated for higher education from about 16% to about 13%.
"The move to a tuition-driven economy in higher education in Tennessee
is having an adverse impact on non-formula units of UT, including the
College of Veterinary Medicine, the Agricultural Experiment Station, the
Agricultural Extension Service, the Institute of Public Service and the
College of Medicine and other health units in Memphis. These units receive
no revenue or a very small percentage of their budget from tuition.
Although a 10% increase in tuition raises the overall UT academic budget by
about 4%, a similar increase in tuition raises the overall budgets of the
medical units, including veterinary medicine, only by about 1%. What is
more, since UT's research and outreach units receive zero funding from
tuition, the long-term impact is that some units of our land grant
university are being severely penalized by the tuition-driven economy.
"Many of our elected officials are not aware of the serious impact
that the tuition-driven economy is having on the units of the Institute of
Agriculture and other non-formula-funded units of UT. They need to
understand that the tuition-driven economy for higher education will rob UT
and Tennessee of certain research and outreach services that have the
greatest potential to impact critical issues in the state. For example, our
statewide research programs to improve water quality, our training programs
in food safety, and our efforts to ensure safe use of pesticides are
jeopardized by lack of funding for non-formula units. UT's statewide land
grant mission cannot be sustained in a tuition-driven economy for higher
education.
from Jack H. Britt, UT Vice President for
Agriculture
University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Read more!