Abstract
Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is one of the most popular cool-season turfgrass species. However, little is known about the effects of N supply on its resistance to drought stress. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of acute drought followed by a recovery period on four Kentucky bluegrass cultivars (‘Barduke’, ‘Brooklawn’, ‘NuBlue Plus’ and ‘Marauder’) and one tall fescue (‘Rhambler SRP’) under two different nitrogen fertilisation rates (100 or 200 kg N ha−1 yr−1). The study was conducted over two years in a rain-out structure to control water input in spring and summer. The cultivars were subjected to a drought stress phase (absence of irrigation) followed by a recovery phase (weekly irrigation with an intake of 80% of ET). The green cover percentage, visual quality, NDVI, and soil moisture were measured weekly. We found that Kentucky bluegrass maintains sufficient turf quality for 2 weeks without irrigation. During the first year of the experiment, slight differences were observed among the Kentucky bluegrass cultivars, with ‘Marauder’ showing a 15% of green turf cover less than ‘Brooklawn’ after 6 weeks of acute drought, while in the second year, ‘NuBlue Plus’ displayed higher green turf cover and NDVI than the other cultivars. Nitrogen treatment had limited influence on the performances of the cultivars, ‘Marauder’ being the only one benefitting from the higher rate of applications.
Highlights
The Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is one of the most popular cool-season turfgrass species for amenity and sport uses and is suitable for many environments with different climate
The interaction between the cultivar and N rate was significant for NDVI and soil moisture in 2019, and for green turf cover, NDVI and visual quality in 2020
In 2019, a significant reduction in green turf cover was observed from the second week for all cultivars except ‘NuBlue Plus’ and ‘Rhambler SRP’, which showed a significant decrease in green cover from the third week (Figure 2a, Table S1)
Summary
The Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is one of the most popular cool-season turfgrass species for amenity and sport uses and is suitable for many environments with different climate. This dark green grass has a medium-fine leaf texture, high shoot density and persistence [1]. It has good wear tolerance, a high potential recovery rate due to its very vigorous rhizomes [2,3], and good heat resistance [4]. It is considered to be a drought-tolerant species, there is high variability among cultivars [5] mainly due to variations in apomictic reproduction rates [6]. Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), and fine fescue (Festuca rubra L.) [2]
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