Zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp. Willd.) for European Lawns: a Review

Abstract

In Europe the cultivation of warm season turfgrasses was negligible until the beginning of the 90's. A scientific approach to their cultivation started with field trials being installed in several locations in Italy starting from 1994. Adaptation to climatic condition and first screening of relative performance of cultivars were held as primary elements to assess in order to assist turf growers in introducing the different species and cultivars of zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp. Willd.) in the warm temperate regions of Mediterranean Europe. At a later stage, studies on zoysiagrass adaptation were extended as north as 45° parallel and, as slow establishment began to appear a major limitation of this turfgrass, an alternative establishment method and establishment pattern were investigated. As for other warm season turfgrasses winter dormancy is considered a major drawback and trials dealing with fall fertilisation and winter management have been carried out to support winter maintenance decisions. In recent years soccer playing characteristics have been determined on zoysiagrass, while preliminary research results indicate turf management through remotely sensed data as a promising technique for the years to come.

Robotic Mowing of Tall Fescue at 90 mm Cutting Height: Random Trajectories vs. Systematic Trajectories

“…Sun and Liddle [45] demonstrated how turf age is positively correlated with leaf tensile strength. Furthermore, as age increases, leaves accumulate higher amounts of cell wall components such as cellulose and lignin [46,47]. In both trials the turf consisted of a mature tall fescue lawn and the age may be the main cause of the absence of lodging in these trials.…”

Sod production in Brazil

“…was registered in Brazil in 2014, as IG 001, and gained prominence under the name of Zeon TM . It was brought to the country to be used in the Olympic golf course in Rio de Janeiro, forming a denser sod, with thinner leaves than those of 'Emerald', besides that is also used in ornamental lawns (Magni et al, 2017;Greengrass, 2020a). Zoysia matrella have better shade tolerance compared to the Zoysia japonica (Wherley, et al 2011;McCarty, 2018).…”

Development of Paspalum accession plugs for turfgrass establishment

“…However, the number of stolons and rhizome branching yielded different colonizing capabilities of the entries. Such turfs have the ability to produce longer and thicker horizontal stems while others to produce higher density (Magni et al, 2017). In addition, it is believed that the potential root development and characteristics of the lawn profile provide important information about its drought resistance mechanisms and the development of drought resistant cultivars (Fuentealba et al, 2015).…”