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cation composition (including Calcium, Magnesium, and sodium), salinity or salt content (ECw), bicarbonates, and other nutrient such as Nitrogen and Phosphorus. The concentration of these components can greatly impact soil and plant status and therefore should be monitored closely.

5. Pest Monitoring – the most frequent pests to be monitored include nematodes and diseases. Nematodes are plant parasitic worms found in soil and can be damaging to turfgrass at high concentrations. Nematodes assays should be performed prior to the onset on stress on turf to best apply curative measures to reduce their populations. Disease testing is typically performed following the emerging of symptoms of disease. This testing is performed to confirm the species of disease and determine the best control strategy.

The above-mentioned tests should be performed frequently on golf courses to have a real-time knowledge of the physical and chemical status of the plant, soil and irrigation water being used. Courses with chronic of issues of specific component should test that component more frequently. For example, golf courses with a history of high nematode populations on putting greens, should test their soils multiple times per year to determine nematode species and population counts. In contrast, a golf course using potable irrigation water from a municipality should be less concerned with poor irrigation water quality, hence reducing the need for frequent water quality testing.