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Daily Light Integral Requirement of a Creeping Bentgrass Putting Green as Affected by Shade, Trinexapac‐ethyl, and a Plant Colorant
Author(s) -
Russell Travis R.,
Karcher Douglas E.,
Richardson Michael D.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci2018.08.0501
Subject(s) - agrostis stolonifera , shading , noon , sunrise , biology , agrostis , photosynthetically active radiation , irradiance , horticulture , environmental science , botany , poaceae , photosynthesis , atmospheric sciences , physics , optics , art , visual arts
ABSTRACT Turfgrass quality is often limited by the availability of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) delivered to the turf surface. The cumulative PAR at a given site during 1 d is termed the daily light integral (DLI) and is an effective measurement for quantifying light requirements for various turfgrass systems. The minimum DLI necessary to maintain acceptable quality on creeping bentgrass ( Agrostis stolonifera L.) putting greens has yet to be determined. Shade timing, trinexapac‐ethyl growth regulator, and ultraviolet‐absorbing plant colorant applications may affect the DLI requirement of creeping bentgrass putting greens. The objective of this research was to determine the DLI requirement of a creeping bentgrass putting green by evaluating the effects of shade intensity and timing, as well as the influence of trinexapac‐ethyl and a plant colorant on turfgrass quality and coverage. Intensity treatments of 0, 70, 80, and 90% shade were applied during either morning (sunrise to solar noon) or afternoon (solar noon to sunset) hours from May through October 2016 and 2017 on a ‘Tyee’ creeping bentgrass, sand‐based putting green. Evaluations of visual turf quality and turf coverage were performed every 2 wk. After 2 yr, the DLI requirement to maintain acceptable putting green quality was estimated to be 30 mol m −2 d −1 . Although effective in improving turf quality at times during summer months, trinexapac‐ethyl and the plant colorant did not significantly reduce the DLI requirement.