Changes in Non-Structural Carbohydrate in Overwintering Creeping Bentgrass (Agrostis palustris)

To investigate the physiological responses to naturally occurring winter freezing stress in creeping bentgrass, changes in carbohydrates were monitored during winter period. Turf quality and leaf growth was nearly parallel with temperature fluctuation. The concentration of glucose, fructose and sucrose in both shoot and root gradually increased from November to January, and then sharply decreased until April. Sucrose was the largest pool of soluble sugars. Fructan also slightly accumulated in both shoot and roots from November to February. Fructan hydrolysis in both organs was found to be much active between February to April. Shoot contained largely higher carbohydrate content in all compounds examined than roots did. Fructan was found to be a main carbohydrate storage form, showing the highest concentration (176.7 and 126.7 mg g-' DW for shoot and root in February). The depolymerization of fructan from February coincided with the high declines in mono- and disaccharide. These results suggest that the accumulation of non-structural carbohydrate until January could be associated with freezing tolerance, and the active decrease from February with shoot regrowth.