Wednesday, November 7, 2007
268-21
Winter Cultural Practices and Shade Impacts on ‘Tifeagle' Bermudagrass Spring-Green up.
Christian Baldwin, Horticulture, Clemson University, 143 P & A Building, Clemson, SC 29634
An alternative gaining popularity to alleviate overseeding and difficult spring transition management decisions is use of turfgrass colorants or dyes. Due to the lack of colorant research, bermudagrass shade intolerance, and the need to provide turfgrass managers with a viable alternative to overseeding for year-round bermudagrass color, a two-year study was conducted to determine the impacts of different cultural practices (overseed, colorant use, and dormant turfgrass) and shade on ‘TifEagle’ bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. X C. transvaalensis Burtt-Day) spring transition and summer performance. The TifEagle bermudagrass green was overseeded first week of October and a colorant (Titan) was applied first week of December and again the first week of February. Overseed, colorant, and dormant plugs of ‘TifEagle’ sod were harvested from field research plots on 8 March 2006 and 15 March 2007, placed in lysimeters 40.64 cm in height and 15.24 cm in diameter filled with 40.64 cm of 85:15 sand:peat adjacent to the Turfgrass Research Center at Clemson University , and subjected to 55% shade. Data collection included percent green shoot tissue, visual turfgrass quality ratings, total shoot chlorophyll, and root total non-structural carbohydrates. Using a colorant provided earliest signs of bermudagrass green leaf tissue emerging early in the spring. Shade impacted SGU for all treatments on various rating dates. By end of May, overseed sun treatment had 39% greater SGU compared to overseed shade treatments. Also, shade-grown colorant-treated TifEagle showed ~37% reduction in SGU from day 2 through day 5 ratings compared to sun-grown colorant treatment.