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Technical Information
pHairway Water Treatment Amendment is a turf grass
management tool that lowers alkalinity and improves water penetration.
By releasing nutrients tied up by high pH soils, pHairwayincreases
fertilizer performance. It also increases the effectiveness of
alkaline sensitive pesticides, and improves soil quality.
pHairway is MCDS (Monocarbamide dihydrogen sulfate). pHairway is a
safe, non-regulated, non-hazardous material, and is the only water
treatment amendment that is guaranteed for use in golf course
irrigation systems. Its unique chemistry consists of an acid group and
a base group held together by an oxygen molecule. The breakdown of
pHairway allows for the release of free oxygen into the water and
soil thus reducing the incidence of Black Layer.
The injection of pHairway into the water source starts a complex
series of reactions, first with the contained minerals in the water
source and then with the soil, where the treated water is applied.
This assumes that the water source and soil to be treated contain
some, and often too much, of the wrong kinds of dissolved salts. Cases
where the water contains too few salts will be addressed separately. |
In The Water: As pHairway is diluted after injection, the contained
acidity reacts with the minerals in the water primarily the
bicarbonates. It is important to understand that of all the mineral
constituents (dissolved salts), bicarbonates are usually the most
important, in terms of their potential for damaging the irrigation
equipment, soil and plants being watered. This is because bicarbonates
react with other contained minerals, especially calcium, to form
insoluble salts, specifically limestone (CaCO3). This causes several
problems:
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- It causes a white precipitate to form on irrigation equipment,
which can lead to corrosion and plugging.
- This white precipitate leaves a white residue on plants and
structures (fences, buildings, etc.)
- Bicarbonates remove soluble calcium from the water, which is needed
to maintain open soil pore spaces and good long-term soil structure
and water penetration.
Some of the active ingredients in pHairway react with the
bicarbonates in the water and produce harmless constituents---carbon
dioxide and water. This reduces the potential for forming lime
deposits. In place of the bicarbonates and lime, the water becomes a
diluted solution of calcium sulfate or gypsum, which is a well-known
soil amendment. |
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In The Soil: As the pHairway treated water reaches the soil, several
additional reactions take place. The diluted solution of calcium
sulfate (gypsum) will increase soil aggregation. This happens when
soluble calcium reacts with soil particle surfaces, causing them to
release unwanted salts such as sodium, while acting as a chemical
adhesive to build soil structure. This produces several related
benefits:
- Sodium is associated with alkalinity or high pH. Alkalinity is
undesirable because it causes many of the necessary soil contained
nutrient minerals to be unavailable for plant uptake and use.
- Sodium causes soil particles to breakdown.
This physical breakdown of the soil structure prevents water
penetration and proper aeration. The results are the plant roots do
not get enough water or enough oxygen, and the accumulated salts do
not get leached down and out of the root zone.
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- At the same time, much of the applied water runs off because it
cannot penetrate the soil. The addition of pHairway can solve these
problems by providing soluble calcium to reform or maintain the soil
structure for good water penetration and aeration, while removing the
sodium and the associated alkalinity and excess salts.
Additional ingredients in pHairway act as a timed-release source of
acidity. The availability of this acidity is dependent upon the rate
of biological processes in the soil. The release of the "in place" acidity is important in inhibiting the formation of alkali layers
below the soil surface, and maintaining readily available mineral
nutrients. Ultimately, all of the contained ingredients in pHairway
are utilized as plant nutrients.
For more information on pHairway, please contact your local pHairway representative or call 800-775-5593.
©2007 Applied Solutions and Technologies |
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