Germination of some turfgrass species used in the green spaces in eastern Morocco

Abstract

Being the main constituents of lawns, turfgrass species have been the subject of numerous studies, particularly on their behavior. But if the literature is full of tests carried out under conditions of temperate climate, the knowledge on the behavior of these species in the particular conditions of Morocco remain very limited if nonexistent. The present work is a contribution in this direction. It aims to study the behavior of turfgrass species in order to determine species resistant to edapho-climatic conditions in the eastern Morocco. Thus, a first test was conducted to determine in the laboratory under controlled thermal conditions (25 ± 1 °C) the germination rate and kinetics of five species: Pennisetum clandestinum, Lolium perenne, Festuca arundinacea, Agrostis stolonifera and Poa pratensis. The results obtained showed that the percentage and the germination speed of differ according to the species studied. In fact, Lolium perenne showed the shortest germination time with a germination rate of 92% in 7 days. Germination peaks after 9 days for the species Festuca arundinacea and Agrostis stolonifera with a percentage of 99% and 89% respectively, and at the end of the 10th day for Pennisetum clandestinum of 80%. Poa pratens is had the lowest rate, 61% after a 30 day period. The results prouve that the measured germination velocity through the germination median duration (T50) varies between one day to five days .the species Agrostis stolonifera and Lolium perenne being the fastest to germinate (1 day) and Poa pratensis is the slowest (5 days).