108-12
Effect Of Shade Duration On Three Warm-Season Turfgrasses.

Monday, November 4, 2013: 11:05 AM
Tampa Convention Center, Room 20, First Floor

Brian Glenn, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, Jason Kruse, Environmental Horticulture, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL and J. Bryan Unruh, University of Florida, Jay, FL
Seasonal weather patterns affect the amount of cloud cover in Florida and other areas throughout the year.  Cloud cover can reduce available light by an average of 45%, and can be reduced even further due to shortened day lengths during the winter. In warm-season turfgrasses, this light reduction could lead to a decline in turfgrass quality and altered physiology.  Field trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of shade duration on turfgrass quality in three bermudagrass cultivars: Tifway and Jones Dwarf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon X C. transvaalensis), and Celebration bermudagrass (C. dactylon).  Four shade intervals were implemented (no shade, weekly, biweekly, monthly) for a period of eight weeks using 50% shade for Jones Dwarf, and 50% and 70% shade for Tifway and Celebration.  Average daily light integral for the experiment was 47.2±8.9 mol m-2 d-1.  Under 50% shade, significant differences in quality occurred at 1, 2, and 6 weeks after initial shading (WAIS) for Jones Dwarf, Celebration, and Tifway, respectively.  For 70% shade, quality differences were observed at 2 WAIS for Celebration and 4 WAIS for Tifway.  All shade treatments had below acceptable turfgrass quality for at least one week.   At 8 WAIS, only weekly shading was significantly different from the unshaded control for each turfgrass.
See more from this Division: C05 Turfgrass Science
See more from this Session: Stress Tolerance, Breeding, and Genetics: Student Oral Competition

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