Turf

28 www.westernturfmag.com Keeping turf green and healthy can be difficult for many groundskeepers, especially during the extremely hot and cold times of the year when turf grasses would naturally enter a state of dormancy. Whether turf is heavily or minimally affected by dormant phases, Bio S.I. Technology's all-natural Turf Formula improves growing conditions to survive dormancy and encourage an earlier green up. Wayne Tucker, 66, is vice presi- dent of sales and co-owner of Bio S.I. Technology. The S.I. stands for Soil Inoculant—the microbial products produced to help rebuild, restore and renew soil naturally. "We're not a big company, but we're growing very rapidly," Wayne said. "It's still a family operation." Bio S.I. Technology was incorpo- rated in 2006, but its history in the soil inoculant field goes back to 1989. Company headquarters is in Justin, Texas. Cheryl Tucker, Wayne's wife is president and co-owner. Their son, Shelby Tucker, is product ion manager. The company exceeds more than $2 million in sales annually and covers 48 states and eight countries. Turf Formula Bio S.I.'s Turf Formula is comprised of beneficial microbes that improve the vigor of the soil, the roots and the condition of the plant itself. The microbes and enzymes rebuild the organic humus soil content and restore beneficial bacteria in the soil that leads to improved turf growth and disease resistance, while renewing the opti- mum growing conditions for beautiful, healthy turf. By rebuilding, restoring, and renewing the growing environment, the Turf Formula improves the soils ability to retain nutrients and water for the root's consumption during active growth stages. Many groundskeep- ers who have tested the Turf Formula have implemented it into their turf maintenance practices and see green- er, healthier, and more vigorous turf. "It's used on the greens and on the fairways," Wayne said. It's also certi- fied organic. "We're getting a number of organic golf courses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area," he said. "It does help improve water penetration, softens up the ground quite a bit so the water can actually go in. It also improves the fer- tilizer utilization and water efficiency. We've got several city parks that use it here in Texas and they're telling us that we've reduced their water bill by as much as $60,000 per year which is significant because water is becoming an issue everywhere." Soil percolation aptly describes what it accomplishes. "It goes back to building the car- bon in the soil that holds the mois- ture," Wayne said. "The water can perk back up as the ground dries out." By building back the carbon fractions in the soil and opening up the soil pores that used to be there by the SOIL MANAGEMENT By Allen Thayer Turf Formula Earns Favor of Groundskeepers Groundskeepers affirm greener, more vigorous turf Turf Improvement This turf plot reveals in before and after shots the progress made in 10 days fol- lowing treatment with Turf Formula. Root Zone Expands Turf Formula helps build turf roots that are deep and fibrous. BIO S.I. TECHNOLOGY

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