A collaborative research program with golf course superintendents to validate biological soil regeneration on putting greens under real course conditions.
Regenerative Agricultural Development has developed a biological soil and turf management pilot study designed to support golf course turf health, improve soil biological balance, assist with thatch moderation, and support efficient water infiltration and root development.
The program is built around a consortium of beneficial Bacillus microorganisms that naturally colonize soil and the rhizosphere, the zone of soil surrounding plant roots. These organisms assist in breaking down organic residues, improving nutrient availability, and stabilizing soil microbial ecology.
Golf course putting greens represent one of the most intensively managed turf environments in agriculture. Greens are subject to compaction, frequent mowing, organic matter accumulation, irrigation variability, disease pressure, and a relatively constrained soil biology compared with natural ecosystems. The average putting green is approximately 5,500 square feet, which provides a practical reference point for planning spray coverage and microbial application volumes.
The RAD Microbes pilot study introduces beneficial microbial biology designed to support the natural soil ecosystem, which in turn supports turf resilience, improved root development, and more efficient nutrient and water cycling.
To validate performance under real golf course conditions, RAD Microbes is launching a collaborative research and development program with golf courses and superintendents. The initial pilot will run with one course in Texas, one course in Louisiana, and one course in the United Kingdom.
Two possible outcomes, both safe. Our microbes will either support green health or they will do nothing. These are the two variables. The application will not cause damage, burning, or contamination to the greens.
The five Bacillus strains in the RAD Microbes liquid blend play a critical role in addressing common challenges across all putting green species, including bentgrass, bermudagrass, Poa annua, paspalum, and zoysia. The consortium operates in the thatch and root zone, not on the leaf surface.
Bacillus licheniformis produces cellulase enzymes that break down thatch and organic residues while generating compounds that inhibit fungal pathogens, supporting improved water percolation and reduced disease pressure. Bacillus megaterium, a root-associated symbiont, solubilizes bound phosphate, enhancing nutrient availability and supporting deeper, denser root systems. Bacillus subtilis produces biosurfactants that improve soil-water interactions and stabilize the rhizosphere microbial community.
Why Bacillus. Bacillus species are widely used in agriculture and turf management because they form durable spores, allowing them to survive environmental stress and establish within soil ecosystems over the long term.
The first phase of the program is structured as a side-by-side comparison trial. The golf course selects nine greens to receive the RAD Microbes treatment. The remaining nine greens serve as untreated controls. This approach allows a direct comparison between treated and untreated greens under identical environmental conditions and standard turf management practices.
The trial evaluates how biological soil regeneration may influence the key performance indicators of putting green turf:
Root depth and density. Turf vigor and color. Water infiltration and drainage. Thatch accumulation. Stress tolerance during heat and drought periods. Soil microbial diversity. Disease suppression potential.
The objective is to determine whether restoring functional soil biology can measurably improve turf performance and resilience within real golf course management environments.
Selected greens receive monthly microbial applications across a seven month window aligned to the course growing season. The protocol below applies to all common putting green species and adapts to either warm season or cool season grass cycles.
Trial window: seven consecutive months, starting on the date the trial begins. Total applications per season: seven monthly treatments.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Application Rate per Treated Green | 150 milliliters of concentrated RAD Microbes formulation |
| Number of Treated Greens | 9 greens |
| Total Concentrate per Application | 150 mL × 9 greens = 1,350 mL (1.35 liters) |
| Application Frequency | Monthly |
| Number of Applications per Growing Season | 7 applications |
| Total Concentrate Required for Full Season | 1.35 liters × 7 = 9.45 liters (approximately 2.5 gallons) |
| Carrier Volume per 1,000 Square Feet | Approximately 1 gallon of spray solution |
| Average Putting Green Size | 5,500 square feet |
| Spray Solution per Green | Approximately 5.5 gallons |
| Total Treated Area (9 greens) | Approximately 49,500 square feet |
| Total Spray Volume per Application | Approximately 49.5 gallons (rounded to a 50 gallon spray tank) |
| Spray Tank: Water | Approximately 49 gallons |
| Spray Tank: RAD Microbes Concentrate | 1.35 liters (150 mL per green) |
| Spray Tank: Molasses (carbon source) | 0.25 gallons (32 fluid ounces, approximately 0.95 liters) |
After mixing the water, RAD Microbes concentrate, and molasses within the spray tank, the solution should be allowed to stand briefly to allow microbial hydration and metabolic activation. Allow the mixture to sit for 30 minutes prior to application. The microbial solution should then be applied within the same preparation window and not stored overnight.
Following application, a light irrigation cycle is recommended to move the microbial biology from the turf canopy into the thatch layer and upper root zone, where colonization occurs.
Target zone for effectiveness. The five Bacillus strains perform their primary functions in the thatch and soil, not on the leaf blades. They degrade thatch through cellulase production, solubilize phosphate, promote root growth, produce biosurfactants and antifungal compounds near the roots, and colonize the root zone to establish a stable, beneficial microbial community.
In natural ecosystems, soil microorganisms perform the essential functions that sustain plant health and soil structure. These include the decomposition of organic matter, nutrient recycling, root zone colonization, microbial competition regulation, and the maintenance of soil aggregation.
Highly managed turf environments often experience reduced microbial diversity, which can contribute to organic matter buildup, reduced water infiltration, increased disease susceptibility, and reduced root resilience. The RAD Microbes pilot aims to restore functional soil biology, enabling natural microbial processes to support turf health.
RAD Microbes supplies the microbial products required for Phase 1 at no cost to the participating course. In return, participating courses agree to a small set of straightforward commitments.
RAD Microbes gathers root and soil samples from the treated and control greens at the midpoint of the trial (month three or four) and again at the endpoint (month seven). Samples are analyzed using microbial genomic sequencing techniques, providing a level of detail well beyond a conventional soil test.
Each sampling cycle generates a detailed evaluation of the rhizosphere across four dimensions.
A genomic profile no soil test can match. Participating courses receive a level of microbial detail well beyond standard agronomic testing, contributing to the scientific development of biological turf management while gaining a working understanding of the rhizosphere beneath their own greens.
The entire focus of the Phase 1 pilot is the nine versus nine comparison on putting greens. Everything that follows is conditional on that trial producing meaningful results.
If Phase 1 demonstrates positive outcomes, a number of follow on opportunities open up across other turf and water surfaces on the course. None of these are committed activity. They are areas of potential collaboration to be discussed directly with the greenskeeper, and where appropriate the greens committee, based on what is observed during the pilot. If there is active interest in trialing any of these areas in parallel with the Phase 1 greens trial, RAD Microbes has product available to support that conversation immediately.
The conversation, not the commitment. Phase 2 is a menu of possibilities to be discussed with the greenskeeper, not a stated next step. The pilot stands or falls on the nine versus nine putting green trial. Everything else follows from there.
Beyond the trial itself, the partnership creates a set of tangible and reputational benefits for the participating golf club. These are the practical reasons a club would commit a small amount of greens team time to the program.
The arithmetic is simple. The club commits the time of one greens team member for the monthly application and the sampling visits. In return it receives free product across the pilot, a published research association, full ownership of the genomic data, and a permanent wholesale price relationship on the active product.
Golf courses represent one of the most demanding turf management environments in agriculture. The intensity of management, combined with the visibility and performance expectations placed on putting surfaces, leaves little margin for experimentation. This pilot study is designed to fit within that reality.
By combining beneficial soil microbiology, scientific monitoring, and irrigation water biology management, the RAD Microbes program introduces a new model of regenerative turf management. Through collaboration with golf course superintendents and greens teams, this initiative demonstrates how beneficial microbial ecosystems can support stronger, healthier, and more resilient turf systems across golf course landscapes at low cost.
The microbes will either support green health or they will do nothing. There is no scenario in which the application causes damage, burning, or contamination to the greens.
RAD Microbes covers the cost of the microbial product, the cost of the genomic sampling, and the cost of the laboratory analysis. The partner course commits the time of one greens team member for the monthly application and the sampling visits.
If the trial shows results, the course is first in line to scale the program across the rest of the property at preferred partner pricing. If it does not, the course has lost nothing and walks away with a full genomic profile of its rhizosphere that no conventional soil test would ever produce.