Turfgrass Water Use and Photosynthesis in Controlled Environments

Date

2018-04-30

Authors

Harnock, Craig

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Guelph

Abstract

Water use by turfgrasses is important because it impacts land use decisions and the potential use of natural turfgrasses in enclosed stadia. To determine turfgrass water use the evapotranspiration (ET) and photosynthesis rates were measured for different turfgrasses under different soil water conditions in a controlled environment with artificial lights. Application of abscisic acid reduced Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) ET, photosynthesis rates and it also reduced turfgrass growth and turfgrass greenness. Amongst tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, tall fescue had the highest ET and photosynthesis rates. Five KBG cultivar blends varied in ET and photosynthesis rates when maintained at bin capacity, analogous to field capacity, and below bin capacity conditions. The KBG cultivar blend with the lowest ET in both conditions was the ‘Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance (TWCA)’ blend. The KBG cultivar blend with the highest ET at bin capacity was Lowmow, while at below bin capacity was 4-Way. Turfgrasses in bins maintained at bin capacity used less water during daytime than turfgrasses in bins below bin capacity and had higher relative night time ET rates: 44.8% of daytime compared to 34.7 % for below bin capacity. The KBG cultivar blend bred for staying green in drought conditions, TWCA, had lower ET and photosynthesis rates than standard KBG cultivar blends.

Description

Keywords

Turfgrass, Evapotranspiration, Photosynthesis, Abscisic Acid (ABA), Kentucky bluegrass, Tall fescue, Perennial Rye, cool season

Citation