Potassium Fertilization for the Growth of Kentucky bluegrass Three Cultivars under Non-irrigation Condition

Sang-Kook  Lee1,*   

1Department of Biotechnology, Hoseo University, Asan 31455, Korea

Abstract

Water is one of the major growing factors that affect plant growth and survival under drought stress. Water deficits induce deleterious effects such as plant growth and photosynthesis reduction. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is one of the most widely used cool-season grasses and require high water demand. Potassium (K) enhances plant tolerance to drought by controlling stomata and osmosis. The objective of the study is to evaluate Kentucky bluegrass three cultivars which are ‘Award’, ‘Beyond’, and ‘Midnight’ treated by different potassium fertilization rates under non-irrigation condition. The K applications were made with the rate of 0, 10, 20, and 40 g m-2. The result indicated that the most drought tolerant cultivar is ‘Award’ and the rate of 40 g K2O m-2 had positive effects such as shoot growth and maintaining soil water content under drought condition. When soil water content is less than 10.2% or precipitation is more than 10.5 mm, there are no positive effects of K application. Under the drought environment, Kentucky bluegrass ‘Award’ and K application would be positive effects when artificial irrigation is limited.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1. Daily air temperature (℃) from April 14, 2021 (DAT 8) to July 28, 2021 (DAT 113). The unit of precipitation is millimeter (mm). Daily air temperature and the amount of precipitation were measured at weather station in Cheon-an, Korea (weather-i). The shaded area in the figure indicates optimum temperature range for the shoot growth of cool-season grasses.