Fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin may hasten establishment of refrigerated ultra‐dwarf hybrid bermudagrass plugs

Abstract

Prolonged postharvest storage of vegetatively propagated turfgrass (either sod, sprigs, or plugs) can contribute to reduced transplant success. Inside a stored sod mass, such as a pallet of stacked sod or a mass of sprigs or plugs, there is limited exposure to light and atmospheric gasses. In these conditions, turfgrasses increase respiration by metabolizing stored carbohydrates (Darrah & Powell, 1977). Additionally, increased activity of anaerobic microorganisms may lead to internal heating (Pahlow et al., 2003). Thus, refrigeration is an increasingly common technique for prolonging the lifespan of vegetatively propagated sod and sprigs (Bowman &, Burger, 2007;Brede, 2000) and has been linked to extended sod shelf-life (Minaev et al., 2020).In unpublished research, Fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin fungicide (Lexicon Intrinsic, BASF Corporation) has been linked to enhanced growth of newly sprigged ultra-dwarf bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. × C. transvaalensis Burtt Davy] greens (M. Grant, personal communication, 2017; K. M. Kalmowitz, personal communication, 2018;Lewis, 2017), and more recently, increased plant health characteristics (e.g., normalized difference vegetative index, chlorophyll red-edge index, and root dry mass) of transplanted bermudagrass sod (Minaev et al., 2020). Abbreviations: WAI, weeks after installationThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.