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Urbanization is increasing the land area covered with turfgrasses, which may affect water quantity and quality. Our objective was to understand lawn-watering habits of homeowners in Olathe and Wichita, KS, based on home value, home age, and lot size. Surveys were mailed to 9992 homeowners in Olathe and 15,534 in Wichita, with a return rate of 12%. Owners of more expensive and/or newer homes were more likely to water frequently, water on a routine schedule, feel it was important to have a green lawn, have an in-ground sprinkler system, and sweep or blow grass clippings and lawn care products off impervious surfaces. Owners of less expensive and/or older homes were more likely to never water or water infrequently, water based on the lawn’s appearance rather than on a routine schedule, consider it less important to have a green lawn; not have an in-ground sprinkler system, and leave grass clippings and lawn care products on impervious surfaces rather than blowing them off. A small percentage of homeowners who swept or blew clippings and/or lawn-care products did so into streets/storm drains. Owners of less expensive and/or older homes were somewhat more likely to engage in this practice. Educational efforts to improve lawn water conservation should be concentrated on homeowners in more expensive and/or newer homes because they water more frequently and routinely. Efforts to protect surface water quality should include homeowners of less expensive and/or older homes.

In the transitional climates, warm-season turfgrasses are more heat and drought resistant and require fewer pesticide and fertilizer inputs than cool-season turfgrasses, but an extended winter dormancy period in warm-season turfgrasses makes them less attractive. Our objective was to evaluate color intensity and persistence of colorants applied at two volumes, once or sequentially, on buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides) maintained at 2.5 inches and zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica) maintained at 0.5 inch. Field studies were conducted in Manhattan, KS, and Haysville, KS, from Oct. 2013 to May 2014 on dormant ‘Sharpshooter’ and ‘Cody’ buffalograss and ‘Meyer’ zoysiagrass. The colorants Green Lawnger, Endurant, and Wintergreen Plus were applied at 100 or 160 gal/acre in autumn (single application) or autumn plus midwinter (sequential application). Every 2 weeks, visual turf color was rated on a 1 to 9 scale (9 = best) with ratings based on the intensity of the color, not the color (hue) of green. Few differences in color persistence occurred among colorants, but color persisted longer at the higher spray volume. In general, buffalograss receiving a single autumn colorant application had acceptable color (i.e., a visual rating ≥6) for 55–70 days at 100 gal/acre or 55–88 days at 160 gal/acre. Zoysiagrass receiving a single autumn colorant application had acceptable color for 56–97 days at 100 gal/acre or 97–101 days at 160 gal/acre. Across all sites, a sequential midwinter application applied at 160 gal/acre on buffalograss and both application volumes on zoysiagrass provided acceptable green turf color from that point until spring green-up. Most buffalograss plots receiving the sequential midwinter application at 100 gal/acre had acceptable color from that point until spring green-up. Winter color of buffalograss and zoysiagrass can be enhanced by colorant application, and a longer period of acceptable color can be achieved by applying at a higher volume or by including a sequential midwinter treatment.

Urbanization is increasing the land area covered with turfgrasses, which may have implications for water quantity and quality. The largest sector of turfgrass is residential lawns. Our objectives were to compare lawn-irrigation perceptions, knowledge, and behaviors of residential homeowners with and without in-ground sprinkler systems (IGS and NIGS, respectively); homeowners were surveyed in three Kansas cities, each with distinctive water quantity and quality issues. Surveys were mailed to 15,500 homeowners in Wichita, 10,000 in Olathe, and 5000 in Salina; the return rate was 11% to 13%. Homeowners with IGS watered more frequently than NIGS; 67% to 90% of IGS and 19% to 31% of NIGS homeowners watered two to three times per week or more. More IGS homeowners watered routinely and applied the same amount of water each time than NIGS homeowners, who mostly watered and adjusted watering amounts based on lawn dryness. More IGS than NIGS homeowners wanted their lawn green all the time, followed lawn-care guidelines, and considered their neighborhood appearance important. Among IGS homeowners, 41% to 54% claimed to know how much water their lawns required compared with only 29% to 33% of NIGS homeowners. However, 65% to 83% in both groups did not know how much water they applied when they irrigated. About 7% to 9% of homeowners swept or blew clippings or lawn-care products into streets or storm drains; this percentage was unaffected by whether they had IGS or not. All homeowners’ lawn irrigation knowledge and habits must be improved to help conserve water and protect water quality, but educational efforts should concentrate on IGS homeowners because they water more frequently.

Irrigation methods that can minimize water use are needed, and the performance of recently released ‘KSUZ 0802’ hybrid zoysiagrass (Zoysia matrella × Zoysia japonica) has not been evaluated under such management. Therefore, field experiments were conducted in Manhattan, KS, and Dallas, TX, USA, to compare the amount of water applied and ‘KSUZ 0802’ performance and recovery resulting from irrigation using the following: 1) routine irrigation (1.2 inches/week), 2) evapotranspiration (ET)-based irrigation (60% of reference ET), 3) soil moisture sensor (SMS)-based irrigation, and 4) no irrigation. The experiment was conducted under a rainout shelter in Kansas from 15 Jul to 27 Sep 2019 and 8 Jun to 19 Oct 2020, and in Texas the experiment was conducted under open field conditions from 22 Jun to 9 Sep 2020. The SMS-based irrigation method in Kansas reduced water application by 68% and 52%, respectively, compared with routine or ET-based irrigation. In Texas, the corresponding water savings were 29% and 13%, respectively. The water savings discrepancy was mainly due to differences in local weather conditions and irrigation demand. Visual turf quality of turf receiving SMS-based irrigation remained above the minimally acceptable level throughout the study in Kansas, whereas in Texas, turf quality declined below acceptable level after 2 weeks. In Kansas, turf retained acceptable quality for more than 21 days with no irrigation, and after rewatering, nonirrigated turf recovered back to significant green cover (93% in 2019 and 67% in 2020). ‘KSUZ 0802’ demonstrated good drought tolerance and recovery in Kansas.