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The objectives of this investigation were to determine the stomatal frequencies of 12 perennial cool-season turfgrasses, encompassing nine species, and their associated evapotranspiration (ET) rates under nonlimiting soil moisture and controlled environmental conditions. Significant differences in stomatal density were found among the 12 cool-season turfgrasses on both the abaxial (P > F = 0.0008) and adaxial (P > F = 0.0009) leaf surfaces. Significant differences (P > F = 0.0007) in ET rates also were found among the 12 cool-season turfgrasses. The Kentucky bluegrass (Pea pratensis L.) cultivars exhibited the highest ET rates, while the fine-leafed fescues (Festuca rubra and longifolia L.) exhibited the lowest rates, except for `Big Horn' sheep fescue (Festuca ovina L.), which exhibited an intermediate ET rate. No significant correlation was found between ET rate and either adaxial or abaxial stomatal density. It was concluded that, under nonlimiting soil moisture conditions, stomatal density was not reliably associated with ET rate.
Turfgrass growth regulators (TGRs) are an effective means of reducing vertical shoot growth and the production of clippings of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). Recently, using TGRs has been suggested as a way to acclimate or precondition turfgrass to stress conditions, possibly through total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC) accumulations and altered TNC partitioning. The TNC may accumulate in response to growth suppression associated with the TGR application. The objective of this study on tall fescue was to determine the effect of a single trinexapac-ethyl (TE) application on tissue weight and on TNC concentration and weight in leaves, crowns, and roots when sampled 6 to 7 weeks following TE application. This sampling time was chosen to coincide with the 28- to 56-day callback schedule that professional lawn care personnel follow when working with tall fescue. In 1995, a high level of turfgrass maintenance was used, consisting of N applications at 49 kg·ha-1 per month and two mowings per week, while in 1996 a moderate level was used, consisting of N applications at 24 kg·ha-1 per month and one mowing per week. Though TE provided reasonable inhibition of clipping growth for a 4-week period during both years, we observed no increase in tissue weight or in TNC concentration or weight in leaves, crowns, and roots when sampled 6 to 7 weeks after treatment. Chemical name used: [4(cyclopropyl-α-hydroxy-methylene)-3,5-dioxocyclohexanecarboxylic acid ethyl ester] (trinexapac-ethyl).
Cultivar selection is one method used for the conservation of irrigation water. The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the evapotranspiration (ET) rates of 24 well-watered, turf-type bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) genotypes under field conditions and established on a fritted clay root zone contained in plastic minilysimeter pots. A secondary objective was to correlate ET rate to leaf extension rate, a potential rapidly assessed predictor of the amount of leaf surface area present for ET. ET rates were determined by the water-balance method. Both the overall ET and leaf extension rate differed significantly among genotypes. ET rates were not correlated with leaf extension rates in individual years. Our data indicated a potential for water savings based on bermudagrass cultivar selection that was similar to the reported potential water savings based on warm-season turfgrass species selection.
Root hairs contributed variously to total root length, ranging from a low of 1% for `Emerald' zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud. x Z. tenuifolia Willd. ex Trin) and 5% for `Georgia Common' centipedegrass [Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro.) Hack], to a high of 95% and 89% for `Texturf 10' and `FB 119' bermudagrasses [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], respectively. Genotypes ranking highest for root lengths with root hairs also ranked highest for root lengths without root hairs and for number of main roots per plant. In terms of root lengths with root hairs, first-order lateral roots contributed more to total root length than root lengths of either main roots or second-order lateral roots for all nine genotypes. Number and length of root hairs arising from either main or lateral roots were not significantly affected by their relative distance from the cap of the main root. `Texturf 10' and `FB 119' bermudagrasses ranked highest for root and root-hair extent.
Iron-deficiency (Fe-deficiency) stress, characterized by chlorosis of leaf tissue, is a major limiting factor in turfgrass production on calcareous soils. The objectives of this study were to: 1) evaluate ferrihydrite-amended growth media and the threshold amount of Fe initially added for use in a whole-plant screening procedure for selecting cultivars that are tolerant to Fe-deficiency stress conditions; 2) measure and evaluate whole-plant growth characteristics that could be an index of Fe deficiency stress; and 3) assess the potential of using a synthetically produced Fe oxide, ferrihydrite, as a slow-release Fe fertilizer source. Iron-stress sensitive `Raleigh' St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] and Fe-stress tolerant `Tifway' bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. × C. transvaalensis Davy] cultivars were grown under glasshouse conditions in a medium consisting of quartz sand, 5% (m/m) CaCO,, and a ferrihydrite amendment providing Fe in concentrations of 0, 15, 30, 46, or 120 mg·kg-1 media, (equivalent to 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 mg DTPA-extractable Fe/kg media). There also was a nonlimiting iron control. St. Augustinegrass was first rated for iron chlorosis 83 days after planting (DAP) while bermudagrass was first rated at 294 DAP. Initial Fe levels equivalent to 5 mg DTPA-extractable Fe/kg media showed potential for screening genotypes. Visual estimates of iron chlorosis and chlorophyll contents of leaves were the best indicators of low soil Fe availability. A single ferrihydrite soil amendment at 10 mg DTPA-extractable Fe/kg media was adequate in preventing chlorosis for the duration of the study (174 and 509 days for St. Augustinegrass and bermudagrass, respectively). Chemical name used: Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA).
The primary objective of this research was to determine the evapotranspiration (ET) rates of 10 well-watered St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] genotypes under field conditions and in a controlled-environment chamber with a high evaporative potential. A secondary objective was to correlate ET rate to leaf extension rate, shoot density, and abaxial and adaxial leaf blade stomatal densities. Overall ET rates among genotypes were not significantly different in the field study, but they were significantly different under the higher evaporative potential of the chamber study. ET rates under field conditions were not correlated to ET rates under chamber conditions. ET rates were not correlated to leaf extension rates in the field or chamber. ET rates in the chamber were correlated neither with shoot nor with stomatal densities. Overall ET rates in the field study were not correlated to stomatal densities, but were correlated to shoot density (r = 0.77).
We compared evapotranspiration (ET) rates for 11 Zoysia genotypes, encompassing two species and their hybrid, maintained at nonlimiting soil moisture under field conditions and in an environmental chamber of high evaporative potential. ET rate relationships to leaf area [leaf extension rate (LER)], canopy resistance [shoot density (SHD)], and internal resistance [abaxial (AB) and adaxial (AD) leaf blade stomatal densities] characteristics were determined. Three-year ET rate means were not significantly different among genotypes in the field study, but ET rates among genotypes differed significantly under the higher evaporative potential of an environmental-chamber study. ET rate was not significantly correlated with LER for either the data from the field or the chamber. ET rates of both types of tests also were not significantly correlated with SHD or AB or AD leaf blade stomatal density. Data from field and environmental-chamber research suggest that differences of individual morphological traits among the 11 zoysiagrasses do not influence the ET rate when measured from minilysimeters maintained at nonlimiting soil moisture.
Verticle gradients of moisture, salinity, specific fertilizer ions, and pH in the root zone in the closed, insulated pallet system (CIPS) are relatively stable compared with those in the open container system (OCS). Establishment of the VA mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices and maintenance of the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma harzianum and the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae were greater in CIPS than in control OCS. In CIPS, percent corn root length colonized by G. intraradices was greatest in roots in the top stratum of the root medium. Colonization was significantly greater in copper-coated root-containment pouches. Population maintenance in CIPS of T. harzianum, initially uniformly inoculated throughout the root medium, was highest in the top stratum of the root medium where K+ and