They're out there, and their numbers are growing. New fertilizers aremaking claims to work "just as well as IBDU," however there is little publishedresearch to back it up.      In fact, much of the "data" comes from laboratories,not the field. When you buy a new product, don't you want to know the resultson your turf?. The point is, you can't afford guesswork in your turf management. And you certainly don't need to risk your turf quality on products thatclaim to be "just as good."      Remember, IBDU's performance is backed by overtwenty years of published research, testing at university trials and actualuse on all types of turf. That's why it's the target for these products,and that's what makes IBDU the premier nitrogen source. And only ParEx has it.

The Way IBDU Works Is Why It Stands Alone.

It's simple. Throughout the growing season, turfgrass needs a steadysource of nitrogen to stay green and healthy. And IBDU in Par Ex does exactlythat through its nitrogen-release mechanism - slow hydrolysis. The release mechanism of other slow-release nitrogen sources is different. Non-coated products, such as Nutralene and Nitroform, requiremicrobial breakdown before the slow-release nitrogen is available to theturf. With coated products, water has to diffuse through the coating, orimperfections in the coating, before the nutrients dissolve and pass intothe surrounding soil. Since beth processes are adversely affected by extremetemperatures, you simply don't get optimal performance when it's too hotor too cold. But IBDU is released gradually because it's activated primarily by hydrolysis--actuallya chemical reaction using water as one of the reactantsand due to its Iowsolubility, the release rate remains under control no matter how wet thesoil gets. Since it's a chemical reaction, the rate of hydrolysis remains stableas temperature increases. Osmosis, on the other hand, is a physical processthat increases rapidly with temperature. So when your turf is under heatstress, coated products can release at an excessive rate. The same is truefor products whose slow-release nitrogen is broken down by microbial activity.Excessive nutrient loss by leaching could also occur under high temperatureconditions.

High PH? No Problem For IBDU.

Some competitors claim IBDU doesn't work well on high-pH soils. But within the pH range suggested for virtually all turfgrass species(5.0--7.5), the release rate of IBDU is not substantially affected. Athigher pH levels, above 8.5, the rate of hydrolysis of IBDU does decreaseslightly, effectively prolonging the longevity of nitrogen available forgrowth       The accompanying graph shows turfgrassresponse to IBDU, SCU and urea formaldehyde on pH 8.5 modified sand soilat College Station, Texas. Note that IBDU quality was greater than theother N sources for 9 weeks and urea formaldehyde was not much better thanthe no nitrogen control.       What's more, since particle size andslow hydrolysis determine the release rate of IBDU, you have some controlover performance. The kind of predictability and control you've come toexpect, but just can't get from the "new stuff" available today.

What ABout The Effects OF IBDU On Thatch?

Excessive thatch leads to a deterioration in turfgrass quality. Yearafter year, in study after study at major universities, IBDU has shownto produce minimal thatch compared to other N sources. What is becomingclear is the benefit of slowly releasing IBDU nitrogen as the primary reasonfor thatch reduction and not the highly-hyped microbes contained in someorganic products.