Response of Twenty Tall Fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort.) Cultivars to Low Mowing Height

Abstract

Tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort.) is the most widely used species in the European transition zone, however, despite its good wear tolerance, its use is still limited to lawns and landscape areas due to concerns about its ability to withstand low mowing regimes. A two years field study was conducted to access performance of twenty tall fescue cultivars (‘Ares’, ‘Armani’, ‘Dynamites LS’, ‘Firecracker SLS’, ‘Firewall’, ‘Foxhound’ ‘Granditte’, ‘JT-LT2′, ‘JT-338′, ‘Karakum’, ‘Lexington’, ‘Olympic Gold’, ‘Rebounder’, ‘Rhambler SRP’, ‘Starlett’, ‘Supersonic’, ‘Talladega’, ‘Thunderstruck’, ‘Titanium 2LS’, ‘Turfway’) mowed weekly at 18 mm. Turfgrass was evaluated every two weeks for visual quality, color, density, texture and uniformity, as well as percent green cover (PGC) and dark green color index (DGCI), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and traction twice per year. Although no cultivars showed sufficient quality throughout the year, ‘Turfway’, ‘Titanium 2LS’ and ‘JT-338’ achieved high quality rating during spring and fall, the two seasons with the highest frequency of games played on sports field in northern Italy. Traction ratings collected in these study fell within acceptable range for football fields. Our results suggest that improved dwarf-type tall fescue cultivars can be used in sport fields in Northern Italy.

Tolerance of Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) Growing in Extensive Green Roof Systems to Saline Water Irrigation with Varying Leaching Fractions

“…Dumort.] emerges as the preferred choice among cool-season grasses due to its drought avoidance and its tolerance to several abiotic stressors such as increased summer temperatures, shade, salinity, and wear [31]. Several researchers have classified tall fescue as moderately salt-tolerant, capable of withstanding soil salinity levels of up to 10 dS m −1 [32][33][34].…”