Absorption - The entry of a chemical or nutrient into the plant.
Acid Soil - A soil whose pH is less than 7.
Actual Amount - The specific amount of an ingredient contained in a fertilizer product or pesticide. Usually expressed as a percentage.
Aeration (Soil) - The exchange of air between the soil and the atmosphere.
Aerification (Soil) - The mechanical removal of soil cores to improve soil-air exchange.
Aerobic - The presence of air (oxygen) within an environment, in contrast to anaerobic conditions which is the absence of oxygen.
Alkaline soil - A soil whose reaction is greater than pH 7.
Amine - A phenoxy herbicide formulation that is less prone to vaporizing and moving off-site than the ester form. Also see phenoxy herbicides, ester.
Anaerobic - The absence of free oxygen within an environment. See aerobic.
Analysis - Determination of chemical components.
Annual - A plant completing its normal growth cycle in one year or less.
Annual Plant - A plant completing its normal growth cycle in one year or less.
Annual, Summer - A plant that completes its normal growth cycle, beginning from seed, in one growing season.
Annual, Winter - A plant that begins growth in the fall, survives over winter, flowers, produces seed and dies the following season.
Autotrophs - Organisms capable of making the necessary food for their survival from various raw materials. In plants, this occurs through the process of photosynthesis.
Biennial - A plant whose normal growth cycle spans two growing seasons. Many biennials produce roots and a cluster of leaves near the surface of the ground the first year; flower, produce seed and die the second year.
Blade (Leaf) - The flattened portion of the leaf projecting outward from the main shoot axis and located above the sheath.
Blend (Seed) - A combination of two or more varieties (cultivars) of a single turfgrass species.
Breakdown Processes - Refers to the chemical and/or microbial actions in the soil responsible for the decomposition of various organic residues, including most pesticides.
Broadcast Application - Uniform distribution of a pesticide or fertilizer over an entire area.
Buffer Zone (or Strip)- Generally considered to be an unmanaged area of vegetation along a shoreline to help slow down and filter runoff before entering the water body and prevent soil erosion.
Broadleaf - A term applied to nongrass-like plants; often used in the context of weed control. Examples include dandelion and white clover.
Broadleaf Herbicide - A weed killer designed to specifically kill broadleaf plants.
Bunch-type Growth - Plant development through the formation of clusters of tillers (shoots) at or near the soil surface. Rhizomes or stolons are absent.