Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Dangers of Fertilizer Run Off

I plan to fertilize the rye grass in my pond watershed this weekend with an ammonium sulfate/urea blend 32-0-0. Other than my FA going nuts is there any risk to the health of my FHM, CC, CNB and RES? I usually apply 200# to the acre this time of year, but this will be the first time since the ponds were renovated and stocked since I've owned the place.

I hope there are plenty of replys as I wanted to do the same but going to use 13-13-13.Im in central texas.

Hard to say but we purposefully fertilizer many ponds, also this time of year the phytoplankton bloom will have a tough time gettnig started. Another point is your using high nitrogen and limiting nutrient in most areas for phyto production is phosphorus.

Did you guys get a dirt analysis of the pond area? With out that there is no way to know what to expect. First if the soil is acid (typical in much of the south and east Tx) then you will have to have an alkalinity reading of around 20 ppm or the fertilizer will not work in the pond. NPK fertilizers come in all #s/types. Most pond fertilizers are low in N (first #), high in P (second #) and low in K (3rd #) like 0-46-0 or 12-48-8. This is because most ponds are not N or K limited but are limited in P. If you add fertilizer like 13-13-13 and buy doing so build up N and K in the pond water and dirt but are P limited and or to acid when the needed amounts arrive the whole system may take off and turn into a pea soup with lots of FA or weeds and could result in a DO crash. You need the facts and to proceed with caution after you have them. See this

http://srac.tamu.edu/tmppdfs/13452410-47...aad4b6025791a12