Evaluation of native and adapted grass species and their management for turfgrass applications in the Intermountain West.

摘要

As cities in the Intermountain West continue to grow, water conservation becomes increasingly important. A substantial amount of municipal water is applied to turfgrass. Twenty-one mixtures and monostands were planted in four replications at Greenville Research Farm to be evaluated for color, quality, and cover/uniformity at two nitrogen levels (49 and 98 kg N/ha/yr) and reduced water input. Color was evaluated using a hand-held chlorophyll meter and digital analysis of photographs. Quality was evaluated using a visual rating scale of 1 to 9 by a trained evaluator. Cover and density were evaluated using digital analysis and the point-quadrat method. The point-quadrat method was used to track species composition in the mixtures. Differences between nitrogen treatments were mostly absent. Some native and adapted grasses/mixtures appear to be good substitutes for cool-season, high-input grasses for some turfgrass applications.