Nitrogen based establishment and seedbanking potential of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass in athletic fields

Thumbnail Image
Date
2012-01-01
Authors
Hoiberg, Andrew
Major Professor
Advisor
David D Minner
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Altmetrics
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Organizational Unit
Horticulture
The Department of Horticulture was originally concerned with landscaping, garden management and marketing, and fruit production and marketing. Today, it focuses on fruit and vegetable production; landscape design and installation; and golf-course design and management.
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Horticulture
Abstract

This dissertation outlines work done that investigated the potential of perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass to form useful, transient seedbanks in athletic field scenarios as well as speeding both spring and fall establishment of said species with increased nitrogen rates. Under the conditions of the studies, neither Kentucky bluegrass nor perennial ryegrass exhibited long term viability, i.e. seedbanking potential, when seeded to bare ground at three different seeding rates and two seeding schedules (one time vs. multiple). Seed was exhausted in the single seeding schedule as most seed germinated and little was left over to germinate later in the season or beyond. In the multiple seeding schedule, seed was available for germination later in the season and at the end of the traffic period, but did not carry over into the following year. It appeared that a true seedbank was not being formed; rather, multiple inputs were responsible for providing a source of fresh seed available for germination in the season of planting only. Turf managers would benefit from a single, early seeding followed by multiple overseeding events to provide germinable seed through the season. Increased nitrogen rates during establishment appeared to provide better color and cover for both species when used with normal seeding rates. Increasing both seeding rate and nitrogen level masked the effects of nitrogen. Further, increasing nitrogen rates beyond historically established norms during establishment did not reduce the traffic tolerance of either species.

Comments
Description
Keywords
Citation
Source
Subject Categories
Copyright
Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2012