The average residential lawn can handle about 4lb of nitrogen per 1000 square feet, with bent grass on a golf course taking around 6lb. They'll also take a minimal amount of weed control, but this is typically spot treatment, as cities are starting to legislate this. In a golf course with bent grass weeds don't typically fare very well, so spot treatement is all that is needed, although I'm sure they soak the course at least once a year in spring, and maybe fall.
Wheat will take around 100lb per acres which is around 2.3lb per 1000 sq ft. However farm crops take a lot more other chemicals then lawns. Now given there are a lot of good chemicals such as roundup that have virtually no run off whatsoever, but there are also some fairly persistent chemicals we still use. I'd say given the sheer amount of farmed acreage that impact that a golf course has, however bad it is per square foot, really doesn't compare. I can't however find a number for the size of golfcourses, although any number would be misleading, as they don't fertalize the whole course.
The argument about seaside golfcourses is interesting though. As well as the idea that if golf courses are using too much due to the ability to water exessively more might run off.
Quote:
Until this last decade many third world country's used little in the way of chemical fertilizers or pesticides (including China), though what they did use was oftentimes those chemicals banned in the states (DDT use is stille extensive in Africa). Its invariably true that US farmlands use more chemicals than farms worldwide.
how many golf courses are there in third world contries compared to the US.
Edited, Aug 19th 2008 10:10am by Xsarus