Turfgrass Color Index, Chlorophyll Content, and Turf Quality between Natural and Hybrid Turfgrasses in Poa pratensis L. of Seoul Worldcup Soccer Field

Won-Kyu Park1   Chan-Ho  Cho22   Ki-Wan  Song2   Kyoung-Nam  Kim3,*   

1Seoul Metropolitan Installation Management Corporation, Seoul Worldcup Stadium, Seoul 03932, Korea
2Department of Environmental Horticulture, Graduate School, Sahmyook University, Seoul 01795, Korea
3Department of Environmental Design and Horticulture, College of Science and Technology, Sahmyook University, Seoul 01795, Korea

Abstract

The study was initiated in Kentucky bluegrass (KB, Poa pratensis L.) to compare natural and hybrid turfgrasses and to provide basic information on hybrid turfgrass applicable to sports turf maintenance. Three treatments were comprised of 2 hybrid-type turfgrasses (HTG-A and HTG-G) as well as a natural turfgrass (NTG). HTG-A and HTG-G hybrid turfgrasses were established with KB cultivars imported from USA and Germany, respectively. The highest ratings in turfgrass color index were associated with NTG in winter between late January and late February, while HTG-A in spring between early March and early May. Ranking for chlorophyll content was variable in season. The highest content was associated with HTG-A in the spring transition (late February to early May) and in summer (middle July to early September), while HTG-G in fall (early September to late October). NTG plots, however, produced the highest content in other evaluation dates of the year. Turfgrass quality varied according to the time of year. Generally, NTG showed the best quality ratings from January to February and in mid to late November. During the other evaluations, however, plots in hybrid-type turfgrasses produced better quality than those of natural turf, being HTG-A > HTG-G > NTG in rank. Slow spring green-up and rapid deterioration in summer turf performance were observed with HTG-G as compared with HTG-A. From our study turfgrass performance was inconsistent among three NTG and HTG treatments according to the time of year. Practically HTGs showed better performance in summer season than NTG. Among two hybrid-type turfgrasses, HTG-A with KB cultivars from the USA was better than HTG-G with KB cultivars from Germany due to greater environmental adaptation to the Korean climate.

Figures & Tables

Fig. 1.Turfgrass color index as affected by natural and hybrid turfgrasses in Kentucky bluegrass during the study. Turfgrass color evaluation was made from January to December in 2019 with TCM 500 Turf Color Meter (Spectrum Technologies, Inc., Aurora, IL, USA). Turfgrass composition and cultivars for HTG-A, HTG-G and NTG treatments are described in Table 1.