The Nutritional Nightmare

by Dr. Robert Ellsworth, Ph.D., Plant Genetics

Vitech Industries, Inc      

Bacteria and fungi control diseases of plants and soils in various ways:

1)     Suppression (Production of antibiotics)

2)     Competition (Striving for the same object)

3)     Antagonism (Active opposition)

4)     Predator (Plunders or kills)

When man interferes with these natural functions, he creates a biological nightmare that he and his plants must become slaves to, unless he chooses to wake up from this bad dream.

The natural healthy state for a grass plant is to let it grow to its full, reproductive state.  On the golf course, however, man intervenes and mows the grass to 3/16” in height on a weekly basis causing open, damaged cells, excessive need for nutrients, and debilitating energy loss to the plant.

Then man exerts a great crushing pressure on the delicate cell walls of the composite leaf, causing cell wall and vascular tissue injury.  With the same “spiked grass crushers”, man proceeds without concern for sanitary hygiene of the plant, by not using foot condoms, to most efficiently transfer disease inoculum from one grass ecosystem (greens) to another.

As the injured and infected patient tries to deal with the tough rigors of day-to-day survival the best it knows how, its caretaker decides it’s lunchtime.  For the first course, a hearty vegetable soup of broth (liquid N) salt (K) and pepper (P) but there seems to be something missing.  Where is the substance?  Meat (Ca & Mg), potatoes (S), carrots (Zn & Mn), green beans (B & Cu), onions (Se & Mo) and corn (Co, V & Ni); these are not included in this diet.  The caretaker has just piled enough addicting, substanceless junk food around the grass plants to last for two months.

The patient, now a drug addict, is rushed to emergency, suffering from a drug overdose.  Infection (anthracnose and fusarium) sets in and mega doses of drugs (fungicides) are administered to the weak and dying patient.  Now in its immune compromised state, the doctor (grounds superintendent) prescribes more vegetable soup (broth, salt and pepper). The patient’s lab tests indicate anemia so a STAT blood transfusion (Iron) is ordered.  As the infection becomes critical, more drugs (fungicides) are prescribed.  A skin carcinoma (dead brown patches) develops and begins to spread. A transplant is ordered by the doctor, but too late; the patient dies of addiction and drug overdose.

Meanwhile the disease contaminated body fluids were spread by man’s feet to other once healthy greens and an epidemic begins among the rest of the immune compromised golf course residents.

This nightmare plagues not only the golf course industry; it is equally frightening to the agricultural industry.  Is there a way out of this bad dream?  Yes!  Balanced nutrition.