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Turfgrass performance of perennial wheatgrass species when grown as monocultures and mixtures
Author(s) -
Robins Joseph G.,
Bushman B. Shaun
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.1002/agj2.20346
Subject(s) - agropyron cristatum , perennial plant , agronomy , poa pratensis , monoculture , biology , elymus , irrigation , festuca , bromus inermis , poaceae
Perennial wheatgrasses are cool‐season Triticeae species native to arid and semi‐arid regions of the world. Due to their inherent drought tolerance and summer dormancy, they have potential in low‐ to no‐maintenance turf situations. However, there is an underlying need to understand and improve their turf quality and density in order to broaden their acceptance. This study evaluated the turfgrass performance of populations of crested wheatgrass [ Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn.], intermediate wheatgrass [ Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & D.R. Dewey], thickspike wheatgrass [ Elymus lanceolatus (Scribn. & J.G. Sm.) Gould], and western wheatgrass [ Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) Á. Löve] in monoculture and in two‐ and three‐way mixtures with Kentucky bluegrass ( Poa pratensis L.) and hard fescue ( Festuca brevipila Tracey). Plots were seeded at a Millville, UT, field site in 2016 and evaluated under two irrigation levels (no irrigation and 50% evapotranspiration replacement) and two mowing heights (51 and 76 cm) during 2017 and 2018. In each year eight evaluations (approximately biweekly) of coverage, dark green color index, density, uniformity, and quality were conducted using digital imagery and then averaged across years. Other than turfgrass quality under mowing height, there were significant differences ( P < .0001) between irrigation levels and mowing heights and among turfgrass entries for each trait. All perennial wheatgrass monocultures possessed low density and coverage but showed relatively higher dark green color index compared with the Kentucky bluegrass and hard fescue checks. Mixtures, particularly with Kentucky bluegrass, resulted in substantial improvement in coverage and density.