Harvest aids for improved bermudagrass sod shelf‐life and transplant success

Abstract

Shelf-life and transplant success of sodded and sprigged turfgrasses are negatively affected by harvest and post-harvest handling/storage conditions. Research was conducted to evaluate effects of several commercially available fungicides, a bio-nutritional plant extract, and a commonly used plant growth regulator on sod shelf-life and transplant success. Field studies were conducted in 2018 and 2019 on 'Latitude 36' hybrid bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. × C. transvaalensis Burtt Davy]. Treatments included: the experimental bio-nutritional plant extract ACA-3434; the fungicides fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin, fluopyram + trifloxystrobin, and azoxystrobin; and the plant growth regulator trinexapac-ethyl. Sod was harvested, stacked to a height of 12 layers, and stored for 72 h; treated and untreated sod were stored at ambient field temperature (28 • C average). To evaluate storage refrigeration on sod establishment, an additional untreated check was stored at 4 • C refrigeration. Sod was installed on an adjacent prepared native soil, and the treatment effects on bermudagrass transplanting were measured visually, by spectral reflectance, and by root analysis. Research failed to simulate heating inside stored sod masses, and treatments failed to affect internal storage temperatures. Nevertheless, refrigeration and, in some cases, fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin application, increased plant health characteristics of transplanted sod. None of the treatments affected recovery of areas from which sod was harvested. Albeit often unrealistic, refrigeration of harvested sod may be the best practice to extend sod shelf-life. When applied prior to harvest, fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin fungicides provided slight improvements in post-installation sod health; however, little is known about the mechanism by which this occurs. Abbreviations: CI-RE, chlorophyll index-red edge; DAI, days after installation; NDVI, normalized difference vegetative index; QoI, quinone outside inhibiting; RVI, simple ratio vegetative index; SDHI, succinate dehydrogenase inhibiting. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Investigation of cool‐season species, seeding rate, and nitrogen fertilization in sod production: II. Management and shelf‐life

“…Figure 4 illustrates the average hourly internal temperature of 24 sod rolls stored under pop-up canopy tents to protect/shade them from direct sun exposure and precipitation and irrigation during 72-h storage, as well as ambient outside air temperatures at all four sod harvests. Similar to Maw et al (1998) and Minaev et al (2020), sod roll temperatures fluctuated, with a lag in time response, to outside temperatures throughout the storage duration, especially the autumn harvests with colder nighttime temperatures. Darrah and Powell (1977) reported harvesting at warmer temperatures, such as later in the day compared to early morning, resulted in greater internal sod heating.…”

An ArcGIS Pro workflow to extract vegetation indices from aerial imagery of small‐plot turfgrass research

“…The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and ratio vegetation index (RVI) are two VIs that are commonly used to estimate turfgrass health and quality (Fitz‐Rodríguez & Choi, 2002; Hong et al., 2019b; Jackson & Huete, 1991). The chlorophyll index–red edge (CI‐RE) value is used to estimate canopy chlorophyll and nitrogen status of turfgrass (Clevers & Gitelson, 2013; Hunt et al., 2011) and has been used to support visual ratings of turfgrass grow‐in (Begitschke et al., 2018; Minaev et al., 2020). Ratio vegetation index, NDVI, and CI‐RE are just a few of the many remote sensing indices that are used in vegetation cover and chlorophyll content assessment (Hunt et al., 2013).…”

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

“…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).…”

“…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).…”