Growth Responses of Zoysia spp. under Tree Shade in the Midwestern United States

Abstract

<jats:p>‘Meyer’ zoysiagrass (<jats:italic>Zoysia japonica</jats:italic> Steudel) is commonly planted on home lawns and golf courses in the transition zone; however, poor shade tolerance limits its widespread use. This study was conducted to determine changes and differences in growth among selected <jats:italic>Zoysia</jats:italic> cultivars and progeny under a natural shade environment over a 3-year period in the transition zone. The study was initiated in June 2010 at the Rocky Ford Turfgrass Research Center in Manhattan, KS. Soil type was a Chase silt loam (fine, montmorillonitic, mesic, Aquic, Argiudoll). <jats:italic>Zoysia</jats:italic> genotypes were sodded in 0.37-m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup> plots and arranged in a randomized complete block with five replications under silver maple (<jats:italic>Acer saccharinum</jats:italic> L.) shade that resulted in a 91% reduction in photosynthetically active radiation (<jats:italic>PAR</jats:italic>). Genotypes included ‘Zorro’ [<jats:italic>Z. matrella</jats:italic> (L.) Merrill], ‘Emerald’ [<jats:italic>Z. japonica</jats:italic> × <jats:italic>Z. pacifica</jats:italic> (Goudswaard) Hotta &amp; Kuroki], ‘Meyer’, Chinese Common (<jats:italic>Z. japonica</jats:italic>), and experimental progeny Exp1 (<jats:italic>Z. matrella</jats:italic> × <jats:italic>Z. japonica</jats:italic>), and Exp2 and Exp3 [(<jats:italic>Z. japonica</jats:italic> × <jats:italic>Z. pacifica</jats:italic>) × <jats:italic>Z. japonica</jats:italic>]. ‘Zorro’ and ‘Emerald’ experienced winter injury, which negatively affected their performance. Tiller numbers decreased 47% in ‘Meyer’ from June 2010 to June 2012, but declines in [(<jats:italic>Z. japonica</jats:italic> × <jats:italic>Z. pacifica</jats:italic>) × <jats:italic>Z. japonica</jats:italic>] progeny were only 1% for Exp2 and 27% for Exp3, and both Exp2 and Exp3 maintained high percent green cover throughout the study. In general, by the third year of evaluation, progeny of [(<jats:italic>Z. japonica</jats:italic> × <jats:italic>Z. pacifica</jats:italic>) × <jats:italic>Z. japonica</jats:italic>] had higher quality ratings and higher tiller numbers than ‘Meyer’ and may provide more shade-tolerant cultivar choices for transition zone turf managers.</jats:p>

Mechanisms of Environmental Stress Tolerance in Turfgrass

“…To improve the shade tolerance of turfgrass, shade tolerance of several turfgrass germplasm were identified. The bermudagrass genotypes of WIN10F and STIL03 [184], [(Z. japonica × Z. pacifica)] × Z. japonica progeny of zoysiagrass [185], genotype of NE3490 of buffalograss [186] showed relatively high shade stress tolerance. Additionally, it was reported that zoysiagrass cultivars of 'BA-189', 'Shadow Turf' and 'Empire' had faster establishment under shade stress [181].…”

Zoysiagrass (Zoysiaspp.) History, Utilization, and Improvement in the United States: A Review

“…In both experiments, Meyer had the poorest performance in Texas shade. Even in the transition zone, Meyer zoysiagrass, along with other cold hardy genotypes such as Chinese Common, exhibited poor performance in natural shade (Peterson et al, 2014). Trappe et al (2011d) also reported that Cavalier, Diamond, El Toro, Palisades, and Zorro all performed well in 50% shade, Meyer performed fair, and ‘Zenith’ performed poorly.…”

Transcriptomic Analysis of Dark-Induced Senescence in Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)

“…The results showed that sequencing quality was sufficiently high for downstream analyses. 1 The Min length means the minimum length of transcripts or unigenes. 2 The Max length means the maximum length of transcripts and unigenes 3 The N50 value is defined as the contig length where half of the assembly is represented by contigs of this size or longer.…”

“…However, light deprivation caused by the forests exerts many negative effects on the turfgrass. When turfgrass is exposed to light-deficiency conditions, a series of morphological changes happen, including an increase in shoot elongation, leaf length, and leaf area [1][2][3]. Leaf senescence will be induced by prolonged and severe light deficiency.…”