Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 10:45 AM
338-11

Comparative Irrigation Requirements of 30 Cultivars of Kentucky Bluegrasses under a Large Rainout Facility in the Transition Zone.

Jason Lewis, Dale Bremer, Jack Fry, and Steve Keeley. Kansas State University - Horticulture, Forestry, & Recreation Resources, 2021 Throckmorton Plant Sciences Center, Manhattan, KS 66506-5506

Efficient use of irrigation water on turfgrasses is becoming more crucial in the U.S. Information is needed about relative irrigation rates among newly-released cultivars of turfgrasses. A field study was conducted at the Rocky Ford Turfgrass Research Center in Manhattan, KS under a large rainout shelter on 28 cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and 2 Texas bluegrass hybrids, which are a cross between Poa arachnifera Torr. and Poa prantensis L. Plots were arranged in a randomized complete block design, and separated by metal edging to restrict lateral flow of water between plots.  Irrigation was withheld from the plots until visual symptoms of wilt appeared; plots were then watered with 2.54cm of water. This procedure was repeated from June 2007 through 30 Sept. 2007. Research is ongoing and will be repeated in the summer of 2008. Total water use by cultivars with similar and different phenotypic traits will also be evaluated.