Transitioning from traditional to robotic mowing affects turfgrass quality and broadleaf weeds on golf course fairways

Abstract

AbstractOn European golf courses, small lightweight robotic mowers have recently been introduced for fairway and rough mowing. In this study, turfgrass quality and the coverage of broadleaf weeds in three cool‐season grasses were compared in response to robotic and traditional fairway mowing. Experiments with pure swards of red fescue (Festuca rubra L.), colonial bentgrass (Agrostis capillaris L.), and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) were carried out at NIBIO Landvik, Norway, to evaluate differences between lightweight robotic mowing and reel mowing. In a mixture of the three species turfgrass quality and the coverage of broadleaf weeds were compared in response to robotic and reel mowing at yearly fertilizer levels from 0 to 120 kg N ha−1. The results showed that both robotic and reel mowing were found to provide high turfgrass quality, while lower coverage of broadleaf weeds (predominantly white clover [Trifolium repens L.]) was found with robotic mowing independent of grass species. In the mixed stand, higher turfgrass quality was found with robotic mowing regardless of N rate, but N rates above 60 kg ha−1 year−1 were necessary to keep the coverage of white clover in fall on an acceptable low level. Our results suggest that robotic mowing can decrease the spread of white clover at a fairway mowing height of 15 mm, but more research is needed to clarify at which mowing heights, mowing frequencies, and fertilizer levels we can get the best competitiveness against broadleaf weeds on fairways with robotic mowing.