Creeping Bentgrass Putting Green Turf Responses to Two Irrigation Practices: Quality, Chlorophyll, Canopy Temperature, and Thatch-Mat

摘要

Frequent vs. infrequent irrigation are two common irrigation practices. This field study was conducted on 'Providence' creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) grown on a sand-based rootzone and maintained as a putting green. The objectives of this study were to measure several creeping bentgrass performance and physiological factors as influenced by light and frequent (LF) vs. deep and infrequent (DI) irrigation. The LF plots were irrigated daily to moisten the upper 4 to 6 cm of soil, while DI plots were irrigated at leaf wilt to wet soil to a depth of >= 24 cm. The LF-irrigated creeping bentgrass exhibited very good color and quality throughout most of 2006 and 2007, whereas DI-irrigated bentgrass exhibited acceptable quality in 2007 but not in 2006. The DI-irrigated bentgrass had lower chlorophyll levels in leaf and sheath tissue in 2006, but developed better color and quality and had higher chlorophyll levels in late summer of 2007 vs. LF-irrigated bentgrass. Creeping bentgrass subjected to DI irrigation developed a less thick thatch-mat layer that contained less organic matter than that found in LF-irrigated plots. Twice the amount of water was applied to the LF- vs. the DI-irrigated plots.