Turfgrass Management for Master Gardeners

Transcription

1 Turfgrass Management for Master Gardeners Jim Baird, PhD Marco Schiavon, PhD Priti Saxena, PhD Outline! Turfgrass 101 (Jim)! Cool-season turfgrasses (Priti)! Warm-season turfgrasses (Marco)! Ask The Master Gardener! Lab Rotations! Pest Management (Jim)! Water Management (Marco)! Establishment and Culture (Priti) Reference Definitions! Turfgrass Contiguous ground cover that tolerates persistent mowing and traffic.! Turf Turfgrass plants and underlying soil.! Sod Turf harvested for transplanting.! Lawn/Sports/Utility Turf Approx. 47 million acres (1.9%) Largest irrigated crop 2006 NASA Earth Observatory Image 1

2 Benefits of Turfgrass Glare reduction Noise abatement Reduced soil erosion Heat dissipation Carbon sequestration Dust prevention Reduced allergens Decreased noxious pests Lowered air pollution Organic chemical decomposition Property value Wildlife habitat Lower fire hazard Groundwater recharge and surface water quality! Color Visual Quality! Density # of aerial shoots/unit area! Texture width of leaf blades! Uniformity even appearance of turf! Smoothness ball roll! Growth Habit! Bunch-type (tillering)! Rhizomatous! Stoloniferous Functional Quality! Rigidity resistance to compression! Elasticity tendency of leaves to spring back once compression is relieved! Resiliency capacity to absorb shock without altering surface characteristics.! Ball Roll! Yield amount of clippings removed with mowing.! Verdure aerial shoots remaining after mowing.! Rooting! Recuperative Capacity Turgeon 5 th Ed. Turgeon 5 th Ed. 2

3 ! Classification of Turfgrasses Seasonal Growth Pattern for Cool-Season vs. Warm-Season Grasses Cool-season (18-24C/60-75 F) Warm-season (29-35C/80-95 F)! Tall Fescue! Bermudagrass! Zoysiagrass! Buffalograss! Perennial Ryegrass! Fine fescues! Bluegrasses! Bentgrasses! Seashore Paspalum! St. Augustinegrass! Kikuyugrass Turgeon 5 th Ed. Cool-Season Turfgrasses for California and Their Management! California has Mediterranean climate: (long, dry and hot summers)! Demand of water > Supply of water! Urgent need of drought tolerant turfgrasses Priti Saxena Post Doctorate Turfgrass Breeder University of California Riverside, CA Tall Fescue (Lolium arundinacaum (Schreb.) Darby.)! Utility: Golf course roughs, home lawns, sports fields, recreational fields, sod production! Growth habit: Commonly bunch type, rhizomatous! Cross Pollinated Species Tall Fescue (Lolium arundinacaum (Schreb.) Darby.)! Seed rate: 5-7 lbs/1000sq ft! N fertility requirement: Medium (2-4 lbs N/1000 sq ft /year)! Irrigation requirement: Low to medium! Cutting height: ! Strengths: Drought tolerant, cold hardy, no need for thatch control! Weakness: Coarser Texture, water pig 3

4 Turfgrass Evaluation Deep roots of Tall fescue - can go down to 4 feet Commercially available cultivars of Tall Fescue Performance Tall fescue, Medallion, Marathon II, Marathon III, Faith, Wolfpack Perennial Ryegrass Lolium perenne (L.)! Utility: Sports field, home lawns, golf course fairways, landscape and parks, over-seeding Bermudagrass! Growth habit: Bunch type, rapid tillering! Cross-pollinated species Perennial Ryegrass Lolium perenne (L.)! Seed rate: 4-5 lb/1000sq ft.; over-seeding dormant Bermudagrass lbs./acre! N fertility requirement: (medium-high) 3-6 lbs. N/1000sq.ft./yr! Mowing requirement: ¾ -2, over-seed turf can mow below ¼! Strengths: Over-seeding, high traffic tolerance, no need of thatch control, fast establishment Dormant Bermudagrass overseeded with Perennial Ryegrass! Weaknesses: Drought tolerance, Poor-fair frost tolerance 4

5 Commercially available cultivars of Perennial Ryegrass Bandalore, Bonneville, Banfield, Fiesta 4, Brightstar SLT, Hancock, Palmer V Fine-leaf Fescues (Festuca sp.)! Hard Fescue! Chewing Fescue! Strong Creeping Red Fescue Hard Fescue: F. longifolia! Utility: Low maintenance areas, home lawns! Growth habit: Bunch type! Cross pollinated species Hard Fescue: F. longifolia! Seed rate: 3-4 lb/ 1000sq ft! Mowing Requirement: 2-3 or unmowed! Irrigation Requirement: Fair! N fertility requirement: 1-2 lbs N/1000sq.ft./yr! Strengths: Shade tolerance, low maintenance grass! Weaknesses: Poor traffic tolerance, Thatch tendency Strong Creeping Red Fescue (Festuca rubra subsp. rubra)! Utility: Home lawns, recreation areas, golf courses! Growth habit: Highly rhizomatous! Cross-Pollinated Species Strong Creeping Red Fescue (Festuca rubra subsp. rubra)! Seed rate: 3-4 lb/ 1000sq ft! Mowing Requirement: 2-3 or unmowed! Irrigation Requirement: Fair! N fertility requirement: (Low) 1-2 lbs N/1000sq.ft./yr! Strength: Strong seedling vigor, shade tolerance, Good recovery from summer injury, reduced thatch tendency, good establishment rate! Weakness: Poor traffic tolerance, poor recovery from injury 5

6 Chewing Fescue (Festuca rubra subsp. falax)! Utility: Low maintenance areas, lawns and recreational areas! Growth habit: Bunch type, rapid tillering! Cross-Pollinated species Chewing Fescue (Festuca rubra subsp. falax)! Seed rate: 3-4 lb/ 1000 sq ft! Mowing Requirement: ¼ -3! Irrigation requirement: Fair! Strength: good establishment rate, good shade tolerant, low maintenance, can tolerate close mowing! Weakness: Poor traffic tolerance, poor recovery from injury Commercially Available Cultivars of Fine-leaf Fescues Fortitude, Cardinal, Epic, Wendy Jean, BMXC-502, C-SMX, Compass, Celestial, Dawson E, Garnet! Utility: Golf course fairways, home lawns, sod production! Growth habit: Highly rhizomatous! Apomictic species Kentucky Bluegrass Poa pratensis! Seed rate: 2-3 lb/1000 sf ft! N fertility requirement: 2-4 lb/1000 sq ft/yr! Irrigation requirement: fair! Mowing requirement: 1-3 Kentucky Bluegrass Poa pratensis Commercially available cultivars of Kentucky Bluegrass PennBlue, ESF Blue blend Sod, ESF low mow sod, Pureblue! Strengths: Apomixis, high recuperative ability, dense stand! Weaknesses: Slow to germinate and establish 6

7 Warm-season Turfgrass Species Marco Schiavon Turgeon 5 th Ed. Environmental Zones The Problem with Warm-Season Species Long Winter dormancy Bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] Origin: Asia, particularly India (Wheeler, 1950; FAO 2008) Growth Habit: creeping by means of stolons and rhizomes Propagation: mostly vegetatively, but also by seed Bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] Heat, drought, disease, mowing and wear tolerant Optimum growth F Not shade tolerant Often considered invasive 7

8 Bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] Mowing heights: 1/8 inch (dwarf types) to 1.5 inch Fertilization: 4-8 lb N M -1 year -1 N-P-K ratio Irrigation: ¼ inch of water per week Bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] " Tifway II (vegetative; traffic tolerant, dark green) " GN-1 (vegetative; coarser than Tifway) " Tifsport (vegetative; cold tolerant) " Tifgreen (vegetative; higher management) " Bull s-eye (vegetative; shade tolerant) " Bandera (vegetative; shade tolerant) " Bermuda Triangle (seed) " Princess 77 (seed) Zoyisiagrass (Zoysia spp.) Origin: Southeast Asia (Japan) Growth habit: often stoloniferous, sometimes rhizomatous Propagation: mainly vegetative, slow to establish from seed Zoyisiagrass (Zoysia spp.) Heat, salt and drought tolerant Newer cultivars are more cold tolerant Dense cover Zoyisiagrass (Zoysia spp.) Slow establishment and growth habit Susceptible to large patch (also called zoysia large patch) Will brown before bermudagrass during drought Zoyisiagrass (Zoysia spp.) Mowing heights: 0.5 inch to 2 ½ inches Fertilization: 2-4 lb N M -1 year -1 N-P-K ratio Irrigation: 1-1 ½ inch of water per week 8

9 Zoyisiagrass (Zoysia spp.) " De Anza (vegetative; fine leaves) " Diamond (vegetative; dense, dark green, shade tolerant) " El Toro (vegetative; faster establishment) " Meyer (vegetative; standard zoysiagrass) " Zenith (vegetative and seed; disease resistant) " Zorro (vegetative; dense, dark green, shade tolerant) St Augustine grass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] Native to West Indies, Australia Creeping extensively by means of branched rhizomes and many noded stolons. Propagation: only vegetatively St Augustine grass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] Dense Cover Shade and salt tolerant Slow grower Coarse leaves Less drought and traffic tolerant than bermudagrass St Augustine grass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] Mowing heights: 2 to 4 inches Fertilization: 2-5 lb N M -1 year -1 P and K based on soil test recommendations Irrigation: 1 ½-2 inch of water per week. Usually applied as needed St Augustine grass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] " Palmetto (vegetative; shorter blades) " Performance (vegetative; highest shade tolerance) " Sunclipse (vegetative; fairly wear resistence) " Captiva (dwarf, vegetative) " Sapphire (dwarf, vegetative) Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz)! Native to Africa and the Americas! Growth habit: Long creeping rhizomes and stolons! Propagated by seed and vegetatively 9

10 Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz)! Growth habit similar to bermudagrass! Excellent resistance to salinity! Not as drought resistant as bermudagrass! Poor cold tolerance Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz) Mowing heights: 1/8 to 1.5 inches Fertilization: 2-8 lb N M -1 year ratio N-K Irrigation: 1-1 ½ inch of water per week Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz) " Platinum (vegetative; dark green, wear tolerant) " Aloha (vegetative; dark green, high shoot density) " Seadwarf (vegetative; fine texture, low mowing) " Sea Isle (vegetative; dollar spot susceptible) " Sea Spray (seed) Buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.)]! Origin: North American prairies! Growth habit: mostly stolons. Dioecious.! Propagated by seed (burs) and vegetatively Buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.)]! Drought heat and cold tolerant! Light green color! Sparse cover! Low maintenance grass Buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.)] Mowing heights: never below 2 inches (weekly) Fertilization: do not exceed 2 lb N M -1 year -1 N-P-K ratio Irrigation: 1 of water per week ( as needed) 10

11 Buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.)] " UC Verde (plugs; well adapted for hot, dry climates) Kikuyugrass (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov.)! Origin: East Africa! Growth habit: spreads vigorously from rhizomes and stolons! Propagated vegetatively or by seed Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov.)! Reasonably drought tolerant! Optimum growth: F! Good salt tolerance! Limited dormancy period in California! Coarse leaves Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov.) Mowing heights: 1 to 1.5 inches Fertilization: 2 lb N M -1 year -1 Irrigation: 1-1 ½ inch of water per week Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov.) " Whittet (seed/sod; broader leaves and thicker stems) " AZ-1 (seed/sod; more compact growth habit) Thank you! Thank you! 11