Timing the Establishment of Kentucky Bluegrass : Perennial Ryegrass Mixtures for Football Fields

Abstract

<jats:p>Sports field construction contracts in cool-season areas often stipulate a 9- to 12-month period between seeding and opening for play. Seed mixtures are usually dominated by slow-establishing Kentucky bluegrass (KBG; <jats:italic>Poa pratensis</jats:italic> L.) and contain lower proportions of perennial ryegrass (PRG; <jats:italic>Lolium perenne</jats:italic> L.) for quick cover. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of planting time on three KBG : PRG mixes, a 100% PRG blend, and their ability to sustain football-type traffic. Field plots were seeded in late summer, as a dormant planting in late fall, and in the following spring. Plots received simulated football traffic, split for one or four weekly games, from mid-August through mid-November of the year in which spring seeding occurred. The experimental design was a strip-split-plot, randomized block with four replications. The study was repeated a second year. All seeding dates provided acceptable turf quality regardless of seed type by September. However, summer seedings of KBG-based mixtures provided better turf quality than mixtures planted in the spring, whereas dormant-seeded mixtures provided the poorest turf quality. Turf seeded with 100% PRG was less sensitive to seeding date, with summer or spring seedings providing similar quality and dormant seedings superior to KBG-based dormant seedings. Summer seedings also resulted in the least amount of broadleaf weeds the next year with dormant seedings having the most weeds, particularly with plots seeded to 95% KBG. All KBG-based seed mixtures provided turf containing ≈50% KBG or more by September, although the amount of KBG remaining after traffic was significantly greatest in plots seeded to 95% KBG and least in plots seeded with 70% KBG. Pure PRG swards provided acceptable turf quality throughout the traffic period but should be used cautiously as a result of winterkill potential and crown rust disease (<jats:italic>Puccinia coronata</jats:italic> Corda f. sp. <jats:italic>agropyri</jats:italic> Erikss.). Different amounts of traffic did not affect turf species proportions. The most consistently desirable results may be obtained with a mixture containing 70% to 80% KBG and 30% to 20% PRG, respectively. Mixtures dominated by KBG should be seeded in late summer for best results.</jats:p>

Species, cultivar and seeding rate effects on non‐irrigated, pesticide‐free athletic fields playing surface quality

“…Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) is the slowest to establish, compared to tall fescue (TF) and perennial ryegrass (PRG) (Valverde & Minner, 2008). Furthermore, PRG is less sensitive to seeding dates for establishment than KBG (Stier et al., 2005; Stier et al., 2008) and TF (Valverde & Minner, 2008). Cultivar selection has also been shown to positively impact sward performance.…”

“…Research results differ with respect to species rank in traffic tolerance, though most data suggest that PRG traffic tolerance is either slightly or significantly improved compared with KBG (Canaway, 1983; Cereti et al., 2010; Dest et al., 2009; Fushtey et al., 1982) and TF (Canaway, 1983; Minner & Valverde, 2005). Turfgrass established from seed containing higher PRG rates (%, by weight) in mixtures with KBG showed more traffic tolerance compared with high proportions of KBG seed (Bourgoin & Mansat, 1982; Stier et al., 2005; Stier et al., 2008). Some studies report that TF has similar traffic tolerance to PRG (Cereti et al., 2010; Cockerham et al., 1989).…”

Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass Mixtures for Establishing Midwest Lawns

“…In addition to the seeding ratio of PGR and KBG, several other factors may affect shortterm composition of the turf stand. Date of planting and simulated sports turf traffic (Stier et al, 2008), cultivar selection (Brede, 1982), and time to initial mowing and mowing height (Brede and Duich, 1984b) have been shown to influence the short-term composition of a stand seeded with a mixture of KBG and PRG.…”

The influence of the grass mixture composition on the quality and suitability for football pitches

“…However, there is still little information in the literature about the quality of the turf based on these two grass species. In recent years, more items evaluating ryegrass and bluegrass pitches have become available, but they did not include a wide range of grass varieties or did not consider different shares of the same varieties in the mixture composition 25 – 28 . According to Friell et al, grass mixtures characterized by similar species composition but different percentage of species or different varieties of the same species, may significantly differ from each other and react to stress completely differently 29 .…”