CULTURAL PRACTICE EFFECTS ON THE SPRING TRANSITION OF OVERSEEDED MEADOW FESCUE AND TETRAPLOID PERENNIAL RYEGRASS SPORTS FIELDS

Overseeding is a common practice used by turf managers in the southern United States to provide actively growing, green turfgrass surfaces during winter dormancy of warm-season grasses such as bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon Pers., C. dactylon x transvaalensis Burtt-Davy). The most commonly used turfgrass species for overseeding is perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) due to its excellent turfgrass quality and rapid establishment. Continued breeding improvements in heat, disease, and drought tolerance of perennial ryegrasses have resulted in cultivars that persist into the summer and interfere with the spring green-up of bermudagrass. Two new turfgrass species, meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) and tetraploid perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. 2n=4x=28), have demonstrated good turfgrass characteristics in overseeding as well as easier spring transition to bermudagrass. Turf managers often employ various cultural practices to hasten the spring transition of an overseeded species back to bermudagrass. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of some commonly used cultural practices, including core aerification, scalping, vertical mowing, and a combination of scalping and vertical mowing, on the spring transition of these new species. Cultural practice treatments were applied to bermudagrass sports turf overseeded with meadow fescue, diploid perennial ryegrass, or tetraploid perennial ryegrass plots at two experimental sites during the spring of 2007 Aggressive cultural practices showed slight increases in bermudagrass presence on some evaluation dates in meadow fescue and tetraploid perennial ryegrass overseeded turfgrass; however, cultural practices did not hasten the complete transition back to bermudagrass, regardless of species.