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Cool-season turf grass species adaptability in Mediterranean environments and quality traits of varieties
Europ. J. Agronomy 25 (2006) 234–242
Cool-season turf grass species adaptability in Mediterranean environments and quality traits of varieties Pasquale Martiniello ∗ , Egisto D’Andrea CRA Istituto Sperimentale Colture Foraggere, Via Napoli 52, 71100 Foggia, Italy Received 23 September 2005; received in revised form 14 May 2006; accepted 30 May 2006
Abstract Public and private sport turfgrass fields in areas with a Mediterranean climate are largely based on cool-season grasses. The widespread use of these turfgrasses in such environments has been ascribed to their availability on the seed market. The large number of cool-season cultivars of all turf species are generally released in northern Europe, Canada and the USA. Thus, the appropriate use of turf for implanting lawns requires field evaluation of the genotypes in sites with a Mediterranean climate to assess the behaviour of cultivars during the growing period. Our study aimed to evaluate the adaptability and quality of the most popular varieties of cool-season turfgrass species in a Mediterranean site in southern Italy. Forty varieties of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), 20 Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and 10 cultivars for each species of creeping red (Festuca rubra spp. rubra L.), chewing red (Festuca rubra spp. commutata Gaud.) and slender creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra spp. tricophylla Gaud. (Richter), were evaluated for 5 years in a replicated experimental block group design. On the varieties of each species turf quality, colour and cover were determined by using a visual score (1–9), assessed monthly from January to December, from 1999 to 2003. Kentucky bluegrass achieved lower scores in turf quality, colour and cover in winter, spring and autumn, and red fescue subspecies in spring and summer, than perennial ryegrass and tall fescue. Perennial ryegrass and tall fescue genotypes were better able than those of Kentucky bluegrass to cope with the climatic condition. The establishment of the varieties to the environment is determined by cluster analysis which identified for each trait of all turfgrass species, a group of varieties with superior performance and adaptability to cope in Mediterranean environmental conditions. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Adaptability; Cool-season turfgrass; Tall and red fescue; Kentucky bluegrass; Perennial ryegrass; Turf quality; Mediterranean environment
1. Introduction The cool-season turfgrass species of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Screb.) are widely used for established turf lawns in public and private parks, athletic fields, golf course tees, fairways and roughs. The cultivars of these cool-season turfgrasses are the dominant genotypes utilised for implanting lawns in the countries of the Mediterranean basin (Veronesi et al., 1997; Volterrani et al., 1997; Russi et al., 2001; Martiniello, 2005). The factor which mainly contributes to their popularity is the availability of the cultivars on the seed market. The common varieties of cool-season turfgrass species have been developed from public institutions and breeding companies in
∗
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Canada, northern Europe and the USA (Table 1). Thus knowledge on adaptability to weather conditions allows us to identify turfgrass species and genotypes better able to tolerate and exploit the resources of the environments (Daget, 1985; Beard, 1989; Van Huylenbroeck et al., 1999; Shearman et al., 2001). Cool-season turfgrasses exhibit optimal growth at 16–24 ◦ C with reduction of impaired growth when the temperature reaches 33 ◦ C (Beard, 1973; Van Huylenbroeck et al., 1999). The weather conditions during the summer months in locations with a typical Mediterranean climate may entail a prolonged period of drought stress which reduces the physiological activity of turf growth and hence the quality of the lawn (Beard and Sifers, 1997; Jiang and Huang, 2001). Cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and tall fescue turfgrass species present large performance variability and different responses to weather conditions. Genetic information on the environmental adaptability of the most popular varieties of cool-season species may be determined by direct
P. Martiniello, E. D’Andrea / Europ. J. Agronomy 25 (2006) 234–242 Table 1 List and origin of turfgrass varieties evaluated in the experiment Variety name Cool-season grasses Lolium perenne Accolade Advent Amadeus Athena Barcredo Barrage Brighstar Caddy Capri Chagall Chaparral Charger II Concerto Darius Envy Essence Fragment Gator Henrietta Kaiser Kelvin Leon Lex86 Lisabelle Livonne Lorettanova Marabella Milton Montreux Numan Palmer Pazsit Pickwick Rival Roadrunner Ronja Sublime Talgo Titus Verdi Poa pratensis Alpine Balin Barcelona Bartitia Cocktail Compact Conni Cynthia Eva Fortuna Haga Midnight Miracle Moonlight Optigreen Princeton Saskia Stola Szarvas
Origin
DK NL NL USA NL NL USA NL DK NL USA USA F NL USA NL NL NL D I NL NL NL D D D D NL NL NL F H DK NL USA SW NL NL NL F DK DK NL NL NL DK DK NL SW NL SW USA NL USA USA F NL D H
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Table 1 (Continued ) Variety name Unique
Origin USA
Festuca arundinacea Amalia Asterix Barbizon Cochise Eldorado Elegance Emperor Houndog V Lara Matador Miro Murray Olga Regiment Safari Sinfonia Strand Tar Heel Titan Villageoise
F NL NL DK USA D USA NL I USA NL NL NL NL USA F H USA USA F
Festuca rubra spp. rubra Barcorsa Felix Franklin Gentil Kristina Laxton Pernilla Robin Rubina Rudax
NL NL NL NL SW DK DK D DK I
Festuca rubra spp. commutata Bargreen Carina Center Licato Olivia Rainbow Samt Tatjana Waldorf Wilma
NL DK NL D NL NL D DK NL SW
Festuca rubra spp. tricophylla Barcrown Bornado Dawson Estica Liprosa Lovisa Napoli Rufilla Seabreeze Suzette
NL D NL NL D SW DK NL USA DK
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field comparison in a broad range of environments (Sifers and Beard, 1993; Ervin, 1995). In field experiment carried out in the USA, cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass was grouped, according to morphological and physiological similarity, into seven homogeneous clusters whose genotypes belonging to the same group are characterized to be endowed with genetic mechanisms able to better cope weather conditions (Murphy et al., 1997). The present study investigates the adaptability and establishment of the most popular 110 varieties of the six cool-season turfgrass species in a site with a typical Mediterranean climate (Table 1). Field evaluation aimed to assess the performance and adaptability of turf quality, turf colour and turf cover parameters over the 5 years of evaluation; for each species identify, on the base of a cluster method statistical analysis of the all data, the varieties best adapted to implanting turf green lawn in Mediterranean environments. 2. Materials and methods The experiments were established in October 1998 at the A. Menichella Farm, located at Foggia (15◦ 13E, 41◦ 18N and 76 m above sea level). During the study period the site had a mean of annual rainfall of 466 mm, a daily mean temperature of 15.9 ◦ C and total water ETo from Class A water pan of 1680 mm (Fig. 1). Most of the annual rainfall (80%) occurs from October to June; in the remaining months the amount of rainfall may be considered erratic (Martiniello, 2001). The soil is a Chromic Vertisol (FAO-ISRIC-ISSS, 1998) with an aridity index = 15 (De Martonne, 1926) and with the following characteristics: coarse sand (2–0.2 mm) 360 g kg−1 ; fine sand (0.2–0.02 mm) 110 g kg−1 ; silt (0.02–0.002 mm) 430 g kg−1 ; clay < 0.002 mm) 100 g kg−1 ; pH (water) 8.2; cation exchange capacity 456 cmole g−1 ; total (CaCO3 ) 89 g kg−1 ; total nitrogen (Kjeldal) 1.3 g kg−1 ; organic matter (Walkley-Black) 23 g kg−1 ; available phosphorus 17 mg kg−1 ; exchangeable potassium 920 mg kg−1 . The seedbed was made by disrupting a legume fallow with a mouldboard ploughed 35 cm deep at the beginning of September. Before seedbed preparation, the experimental field was equipped with a permanent irrigation system based on buried pipes equipped with automatic disappearing rotary sprinklers. The amount of water distributed by the irrigation system took account of seasonal rainfall and ETo. To avoid drought stress during turfgrass growth, water was applied when the top soil moisture content reached pF 4.0 (85–90% of water holding capacity). Volume of water and number of waterings applied in the study year are reported in Table 2. Prior to seeding, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers were applied at a rate of 30 kg ha−1 of N and 72 kg ha−1 P2 O5 , respectively, before smoothing the soil with a field cultivator and tine harrow. In the first week of October 1998, seed of 40 varieties of perennial ryegrass, 20 of both Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue and 10 varieties each of creeping red, chewing red and slender creeping red fescue were hand sown in plots of 6 m2 (2 m × 3 m) at the seed rate of 25 g m−2 for Kentucky bluegrass and 40 g m−2 for the varieties of other turf grass species (Table 1). Plots were arranged in a group block design with three replicates (Gomez and Gomez, 1984).
Table 2 Clippings, water irrigations and total water applied by season and year in a Mediterranean environment Agronomic intervention
Year 1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Clippings (no.) Spring Summer Autumn Winter
12 18 11 3
11 15 8 3
13 17 7 3
12 14 8 3
9 12 9 3
Total cuts
44
37
40
37
33
Water irrigation (no.) Spring Summer Autumn Winter
13 29 7 1
12 37 13 2
13 39 11 0
9 34 11 0
10 35 9 0
Total irrigations
50
64
63
54
54
Water applied (mm) Spring Summer Autumn Winter
273 609 147 21
252 777 273 42
273 819 231 0
189 714 231 0
210 735 189 0
1050
1344
1323
1134
1134
Total water volume
When required, dicotyledonous weed encroachment was controlled by herbicide while the monocotyledons were hand pulled. Nitrogen fertiliser was manually applied in all entries at a rate of 15 g m−2 yr−1 in four rounds (beginning of October, January, April and July) while phosphorus was applied at a rate of 4 g m−2 yr−1 of P2 O5 as superphosphate fertiliser in the winter time prior to aeration of the turfgreen. In February, the plots were aerated using self-propelling equipment with a hollow core with a 16 mm tines on 60 mm spacing. The plots were mown at a height of 3.5 cm when the turfgrass was 5.5 cm tall by using a riding triplex mower, recovering and discarding the clippings. The number of clippings by season is reported in Table 2. Turfgrass quality was assessed by a visual score based on a 1–9 scale, as used in the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program in the USA. The lowest level (1) defines very poor turf quality, light green turf and bare soil while the highest level (9) indicates outstanding turf quality, dark green turf and very dense cover. Scoring was carried out on a monthly basis from January to December during the period of field tests from 1999 to 2003. Statistical analysis was conducted separately for each turfgrass species by using PROC ANOVA procedure of the SAS (SAS Institute, 1997). In the model the turfgrass species were analysed according to split-plot in time where evaluation year was considered a main plot. The arcsine transformation (arcsin × (SQRT(X/100)) × 52.3) was made on data before analysis. The ANOVA analysis was established on values of plot varieties averaged over months in each season. The effects of seasons over the study years and their interaction, were established by processing the data derived from the mean of varieties belonging to the turfgrass species. Statistical analysis was performed considering the variety as a random factor and year and season as
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237
Fig. 1. Mean monthly ETo, rainfall and temperature occurred in the site of experiment from 1999 to 2003.
fixed factors. To identify the variety of each turfgrass species with the highest adaptability to the environmental conditions in question, all the observations recorded across the period of evaluation of turf quality, in terms of colour and cover parameters, were analysed according to the Scott and Knott (1974) cluster technique as described by Gates and Bilbro (1978). The data of each parameter were grouped according to the null distribution of λ. This statistic, as defined by Edwards and Cavalli-Sforza (1965), when applied to univariate means of data, is a random
variable with Student’s distribution. Calculation of λ partitions the mean varieties of parameters in groups, for which the intergroup and intra-group showed a maximum and minimum sum square variability, respectively. Analysis of data across the five study years identifies, on the basis of the likelihood ratio test (Gates and Bilbro, 1978), two cluster groups. The means within each cluster group had minimum mean square interactions and were not statistically significant while the means between clusters were significant at P ≥ 0.05 level of probability.
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3. Results Mean temperature, rainfall and ETo occurring in the months during the period of turf growth (Fig. 1) had different effects on turf quality, colour and cover traits of the varieties in all turfgrass species. Analysis of variance revealed significant year, season and variety effects for turf quality, colour and cover traits in all turfgrass species. Year and season and their interaction (Y × S) were the source of variation which produced the most significant difference in turf quality, colour and cover traits in all turfgrass species. The two factor interaction (Y × V) affected all turfgrass quality traits in perennial ryegrass and tall fescue, turf colour and cover in creeping, turf cover in chewing and turf quality in slender chewing red fescue while the interaction (S × V) influenced the trait turf colour in creeping and chewing red fescue and tall fescue; turf quality and colour in perennial ryegrass. By contrast the other two-three factor interactions, except turf quality colour and cover traits in Kentucky bluegrass, were statistically not significant (Table 3). All turfgrass species are best adapted to spring for the traits considered in the experiments than the other seasons. In this season, the best adaptability for turf quality, colour and cover traits was observed in tall fescue turfgrass species (Table 4). Mean spring season values of tall fescue were about 5.7% higher in turf quality, colour and cover traits than the corresponding mean of other seasons (Table 4). The best adaptability of turf quality, colour and cover traits of creeping, chewing and slender chewing red fescue was observed in winter season (Table 4). The scores of these winter turfgrass species were higher (17, 16 and 11%, respectively for turf quality, colour and cover traits) than those of other turfgrass species. Scores for these traits in other seasons showed the opposite trend (Table 4). The reduction in scores in all subspecies of red fescue, in summer and autumn, range from 25.6% in turf quality to 1% in turf colour (Table 4). Average scores (over the years and seasons) of tall fescue were higher than those of perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass and red fescue subspecies, respectively by 7.9, 19.7 and 15.3% in turf quality; 6.8, 12.1 and 15.3% in turf colour and 3.9, 21.1 and 13.2% in turf cover. The summer mean values of turf quality traits (5.5, 5.4 and 6.1% of turf quality, colour and cover, respectively) observed in red fescue subspecies were the lowest scores recorded in the turfgrasses species (Table 4). Among red fescue, the chewing red was the subspecies best adapted to weather conditions of Mediterranean environments. In this turfgrass subspecies, turf quality, colour and cover scores in autumn were, respectively, 9.2, 4.9 and 3.5% higher than the means of creeping and slender creeping red fescue while in all subspecies the variation among turf parameters observed in the other seasons were statistically not significant (Table 4). Scott and Knott’s (1974) cluster method analysis identify for each trait of turfgrass species, two groups of varieties whose means (i.e. the average of the selected and discarded group) were statistically significant while the means of varieties within the group were not. Our results showed a wide range of adaptability of the turfgrass species varieties to weather conditions. The cluster group
Table 3 Analysis of variance of the effects of year (Y), season (S) and variety (V) on turf quality, colour and cover traits in turf grass species grown in a Mediterranean environment Source of variation
d.f.
Kentucky bluegrass Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V) Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error Perennial ryegrass Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V) Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error
Turf (1–9) Quality
Colour
Cover
4 3 19
83.7** 411.0** 19.0**
90.2** 443.6** 12.4**
176.1** 486.2** 22.0**
12 76 57 228 798
26.6** 6.0** 2.9** 2.4** 1.8
25.3** 3.3** 3.4** 1.3** 1.2
29.3** 5.8** 3.9** 2.9* 2.4
4 3 39
28.6** 592.9** 14.9**
142.8** 418.5** 24.4**
61.1** 327.9** 15.4**
12 156 117 468 1598
Tall fescue Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V)
4 3 19
Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error
12 76 57 228 798
Red fescue spp.rubra Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V) Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error Red fescue spp.commutata Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V) Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error Red fescue spp.tricophylla Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V)
4 3 9 12 36 27 108 398
4 3 9 12 36 27 108 398
4 3 9
76.9** 1.8** 1.5** 0.7 ns 0.8 71.4** 235.5** 1.8** 8.6** 0.9* 0.6 ns 0.5 ns 0.7
32.9** 1.4** 1.4** 0.7 ns 0.8 81.0** 325.5** 2.8** 5.3** 1.1** 1.3** 0.5 ns 0.6
95.3** 2.0** 1.4 ns 1.2 ns 1.2 77.7** 287.2** 2.4** 7.5** 1.8** 0.8 ns 1.0 ns 1.2
37.7** 45.8** 8.7**
7.9** 98.5** 11.6**
70.5** 32.3** 6.9**
23.5** 1.4 ns 1.5 ns 0.6 ns 1.2
22.8** 2.1** 2.1** 0.8 ns 1.3
19.9** 2.6** 1.7 ns 1.3 ns 1.8
33.7** 40.2** 8.0** 19.9** 1.9 ns 1.6 ns 0.8 ns 1.4
93.7** 81.2** 10.4**
22.1** 129.5** 11.5** 18.8** 1.6 ns 2.0* 0.5 ns 1.2
38.7** 115.9** 9.1**
86.5** 14.5** 8.3** 39.7** 4.2** 3.2 ns 1.4 ns 2.1
116.4** 79.3** 10.4**
P. Martiniello, E. D’Andrea / Europ. J. Agronomy 25 (2006) 234–242 Table 3 (Continued ) Source of variation
Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error *,** Significant
d.f.
12 36 27 108 398
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Table 5 Means over years of turf parameters in Perennial ryegrass in the selected and discarded homogeneous group and means of variety in the selected group
Turf (1–9) Quality
Colour
Cover
20.0** 2.4** 1.7 ns 1.1 ns 1.5
20.8** 1.8 ns 1.8 ns 0.8 ns 1.3
30.1** 3.1 ns 2.3 ns 2.1 ns 2.2
at the 0.05 and 0.01 probability levels, respectively, ns: not sig-
nificant.
of selected mean turf quality, colour and cover traits included in each turfgrass species a different number of varieties. The percentages of the total number of varieties belonging to the selected cluster were for turf quality, colour and cover traits, respectively 40, 27 and 20% in perennial ryegrass (Table 5); 85, 60 and 15% in Kentucky bluegrass (Table 6); 20, 35 and 30% in tall fescue (Table 7); 50, 40 and 30% in creeping red; 40, 50 and 40% in chewing red and 30, 30 and 20% in slender creeping red fescue (Table 8). In all turfgrass species, turf cover, because evaluated plant development, was the parameter most affected by weather conditions. The mean values of the selected group of turf quality, colour and cover of peren-
Species and variety
Turf parameter (1–9) Quality
Colour
Cover
Perennial ryegrass Charger II Chaparal Roadranner Brightstar Verdi Sublime Advent Amadeus Pickwick Kelvin Capri Gator Amadeus Kaiser Essence Lex86
7.9 7.9 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.5 7.5 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.1 7.1
8.0 7.9 8.2 8.1 7.5 7.8 7.5 7.6 7.3
8.3 8.1 8.4 8.1 7.7 8.2 7.7 8.8
Mean selected Mean discarded
7.4 6.6
7.7 7.0
7.3 7.4
8.1 7.2
Table 4 Mean turfgrass scores by season in turf quality, colour and cover in a Mediterranean environment Cool-season species
Winter (1–9)
Spring (1–9)
Summer (1–9)
Autumn (1–9)
Mean
LSD0.05
Turf quality Perennial ryegrass Kentucky bluegrass Tall fescue Creeping red fescue Chewing red fescue Slender creeping red fescue
5.9 4.9 6.6 6.8 7.1 7.1
7.4 6.5 8.3 6.3 6.6 6.6
7.4 6.9 8.0 5.6 5.8 5.1
7.1 6.3 7.5 6.5 7.1 6.4
7.0 6.1 7.6 6.3 6.7 6.3
0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3
Mean
6.4
7.0
6.5
6.8
LSD0.05
0.3
0.3
0.4
0.2
Turf colour Perennial ryegrass Kentucky bluegrass Tall fescue Creeping red fescue Chewing red fescue Slender creeping red fescue
5.7 5.3 6.4 6.9 6.8 7.0
7.4 7.2 8.1 6.2 6.7 6.5
7.3 7.2 7.9 5.5 5.6 5.1
7.2 6.4 7.3 6.7 7.2 7.0
Mean
6.3
7.0
6.4
7.0
LSD0.05
0.2
0.2
0.4
0.1
Turf cover Perennial ryegrass Kentucky bluegrass Tall fescue Creeping red fescue Chewing red fescue Slender creeping red fescue
6.4 4.6 6.3 6.4 6.6 6.5
7.9 6.3 8.0 6.8 6.8 7.0
7.7 6.9 8.2 6.0 6.5 5.7
7.3 6.1 7.8 6.8 7.1 6.9
Mean
6.2
7.1
6.8
7.0
LSD0.05
0.3
0.2
0.3
0.2
0.1
6.9 6.5 7.4 6.3 6.6 6.4
0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1
7.3 6.0 7.6 6.5 6.7 6.6
0.2 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1
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Table 6 Mean turf parameters (1999–2003) in Kentucky bluegrass in the selected and discarded homogeneous group and means of variety in the selected group
Table 8 Means over years of turf parameters in three red fescues in the selected and discarded homogeneous group and means of variety in the selected group
Species and variety
Species and variety
Turf parameter (1–9) Quality
Kentucky bluegrass Compact Cocktail Princeton Conni Haga Saskia Balin Fortuna Cynthia Midnight Barcelona Unique Szarvas Miracle Optigreen Alpine Eva
6.8 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.0 6.0 6.0
Mean selected Mean discarded
6.3 5.2
Colour
6.6 7.2 6.9 6.6 6.9 6.4 6.8
Cover 6.7 6.5
6.9
6.9 6.6 6.7
6.6 6.7 6.3
6.7 5.8
nial ryegrass and tall fescue (Tables 5 and 7) were higher than those of Kentucky bluegrass species and all subspecies of red fescue (Tables 7 and 8). The turfgrass fescues (tall and red fescue) were the species with the most varieties in the selected group of turf cover than other traits, showing higher adaptability of the genotypes to Mediterranean climatic conditions. Furthermore, given the variation among genotype means belonging to the selected cluster group of turf quality and turf cover traits in tall fescue, lower than those of other species, the varieties in this cluster group may well be physiologically better endowed to cope with the climatic conditions of Mediterranean environments. Mean turf quality, colour and cover of selected and discarded clusters differed among clusters and turfgrass species. Table 7 Mean turf parameters (1999–2003) in tall fescue in the selected and discarded homogeneous group and means of variety in the selected group Species and variety
F. arundinacea Matador Sinfonia Tar Hell Amalia Barbizon Safari Eldorado Lara Asterix Mean selected Mean discarded
Turf parameter (1–9) Quality
Colour
Cover
8.1 7.8 7.8 7.8
7.7
8.0 7.9
7.9 6.9
Quality
Colour
Cover
Creeping red fescue Laxton Pernilla Rudax Rubinia Kristina Gentil
6.8 6.8 6.5 6.4 6.4
6.7 6.8 6.5
6.8 6.9 6.7
Mean selected Mean discarded
6.6 6.0
6.6 6.1
6.8 6.3
7.2 7.1 6.8 6.8
7.3 6.7 6.9 6.8 6.6
7.1 7.2
Chewing red fescue Samat Waldorf Olivia Bargreen Center Carina
6.5
7.8 7.7 7.6 7.6 7.5 7.5
7.7 7.8 7.8
7.6 7.3
7.8 7.4
7.6
Turf parameter (1–9)
Mean selected Mean discarded Slander creeping red fesue Seabreeze Barcrown Suzette Mean selected Mean discarded
6.6 6.4
7.0 6.8
7.0 6.4
6.9 6.2
7.0 6.5
6.9 6.8 6.6
6.7 6.8 6.7
7.3 6.8
6.7 6.0
6.7 6.2
7.1 6.4
The parameters of genotypes belonging to mean values of the discarded cluster were more strongly affected by environmental conditions than those of selected groups. Between selected and discarded groups, turf quality, colour and cover showed a respective average reduction of 11.6, 6.9 and 8.1%. The mean values of discarded groups were lower than the selected ones in turf quality, colour and cover traits, respectively by 10.8, 9.1 and 11.1% in perennial ryegrass; 17.4, 6.0 and 13.4% in Kentucky bluegrass; 12.7, 3.9 and 5.1% in tall fescue; 9.1, 7.6 and 7.4% in creeping; 8.6, 10.1 and 7.1% in chewing and 10.5, 7.5 and 9.9% in slender chewing red fescue. Perennial ryegrass and tall fescue scored more highly in all turf parameters than Kentucky bluegrass and all subspecies of red fescue. 4. Discussion The varieties of turf grass species adapted differently to the weather condition occurring across seasons of the year evaluated, and turfgrass species also developed differently in Mediterranean environments (Table 3). According to the results reported by Gullino and Mocioni (2000) and Belisario et al. (2001), environmental conditions differently influenced the susceptibility of pathogen agents in cool-season turfgrass species. Pathologic observations made on the experiment by Corazza et al. (2001) in Kentucky bluegrass evidenced that the lower scores observed in all traits across the seasons (particularly in winter and autumn
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rather than summer) were mainly due to high fungi susceptibility of the varieties to the rust pathogen agent (Puccinia graminis and Puccinia striiformis). The higher values observed in Kentucky bluegrass in turf quality and cover traits (respectively, 6.9 and 6.3% in turf colour and cover) may be ascribed, as reported by Corazza et al. (2001) and Belisario et al. (2001) on observations established in this experiment, to lower pathogen infection than other seasons which, as consequences of high humidity, the cultivars resulted more susceptible to fungi diseases. Whatever, the high values of turf quality and turf cover traits observed in summer in tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass were ascribed to greater adaptability to dry environmental conditions in tall fescue (Huang and Fu, 2001); the reduction in pathogen injury in Kentucky bluegrass was considered a consequence of unfavourable development of fungi during summer months (Belisario et al., 2001; Keeley and Koski, 2001). The differences in scores observed among seasons in turf quality, colour and cover traits in all subspecies of red fescue proved the better growth adaptability of genotypes to climatic conditions of the winter and autumn months rather than those of other seasons. However, the better winter activity observed in the varieties of creeping red fescue than those of other subspecies, according to Van Huylenbroeck et al. (1999), Belisario et al. (2001) and Volterrani et al. (2001) may be ascribed to more efficient biological mechanisms in winter and susceptibility to pathogen agents in summer (Fusarium culmorum and Bipolaris sorokiniana) than other seasons. The reduced adaptability observed in summer season of the all traits of red fescue subspecies may be attributed to the negative effect of weather conditions occurring in this period on plant development (Table 4). The adaptability among varieties of turf parameters to exploit the environmental condition differed among cool-season species. The Scott and Knott (1974) cluster method may be considered appropriate to discover varieties, in each turfgrass species, with turf parameters endowed with physiological mechanisms which are able to perform better in the environmental conditions of the experiment. In agreement with the inferences of Murphy et al. (1997) made on the homogenous group of Kentucky bermudagrass, the varieties present in the selected cluster group may be expected to be endowed with genetic mechanism able to better tolerate and perform the yearly weather conditions.
5. Conclusions Varieties of cool-season turfgrass species adapted differently to environmental events occurring during the study seasons. Cultivars of red fescue subspecies had turf quality traits which, due to environmental stress acting on plant development, performed better in winter and autumn than other seasons. The variety presents in all selected cluster groups of turf quality, colour and cover traits showed low interaction with environmental factors (year and season), conferring better performance to tolerate the environmental Mediterranean climate.
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Acknowledgements Research was funded by the special project “Inerbimenti e tappeti erbosi per la valorizzazione agricola, ricreativa e sportiva del territorio” of the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policy. Paper no. 159.
References Beard, J.B., 1973. Turfgrass: Science and culture. Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA. Beard, J.B., 1989. Turfgrass water stress: drought resistance components, physiological mechanisms, and species-genotypes diversity. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 6, 23–28. Beard, J.B., Sifers, S.I., 1997. Genetic diversity in dehydration avoidance and drought resistance within the Cynodon and Zoysia species. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 8, 603–610. Belisario, A., Forti, E., Santori, A., Corazza, L., 2001. Alcune malattie fungine di tappeti erbosi. Informatore Fitopatologico 51 (1–2), 43–45. Corazza, L., Buonaurio, R., Belisario, A., Santori, L., Cappelli, C., 2001. Problemi fitopatologici dei tappeti erbosi. L’Informatore Agrario 41, 59–61. Daget, P., 1985. The Mediterranean bioclimates and some of their consequences on vegetation. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 5, 25–35. De Martonne, E., 1926. Quoted by Thornthwaite, in: , Holzman, C.M.B. (Ed.), Measurement of Evapotranspiration from Land Water Surface. USDA Technical Bulletin 817, pp. 1–143. Edwards, A.W.F., Cavalli-Sforza, L.L., 1965. A method for cluster analysis. Biometrics 21, 362–375. Ervin, E.H., 1995. Performance of Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue and buffalograss under lime source irrigation, M.S. Thesis. Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, USA. FAO-ISRIC-ISSS, 1998. World reference base for soil resources, World Soil Resources Rep. No. 84. Rome, Italy. Gates, G.E., Bilbro, J.D., 1978. Illustration of a cluster analysis method for mean separation. Agron. J. 70, 462–465. Gomez, K.A., Gomez, A.A., 1984. Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research, 2nd ed. J. Wiley & Sons, New York, USA. Gullino, M.L., Mocioni, M., 2000. Les maladies fungiques des gazons: la situation italienne. Paysage Actualit´es 234, 42–45. Huang, B., Fu, J., 2001. Growth and physiological responses of tall fescue to surface soil drying. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 9, 291–296. Jiang, Y., Huang, B., 2001. Effects of calcium on physiological responses of tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass to drought stress. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 9, 297–302. Keeley, S.J., Koski, A.J., 2001. Dehydration avoidance of diverse Poa pratensis cultivars and cultivars groups in a semi-arid climate. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 9, 311–316. Martiniello, P., 2001. Valorizzazione agronomica delle risorse ambientali degli areali meridionali. Ambiente Risorse e Salute 20 (81), 19–23. Martiniello, P., 2005. Variability of turf quality and phytocoenoses in areas of play in football grounds in Mediterranean environments. Agri. Med. 135, 209–220. Murphy, J.A., Bonos, S., Perdomo, P., 1997. Classification of Poa pratensis genotypes. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 8, 1176–1183. Russi, L., Martiniello, P., Tomasoni, C., Annicchiarico, P., Piano, E., Veronesi, F., 2001. Establishment of cool season grasses in different Italian environments. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 9, 917–921. SAS Institute, 1997. SAS/STAT Software: changes and enhancements through release 6.12. SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC, USA. Scott, A.J., Knott, M., 1974. A cluster analysis method for grouping means in the analysis of variance. Biometrics 30, 507–512. Shearman, R.C., Carrow, R.N., Wit, L.A., Duncan, R.R., Trenholm, L.E., Warley, J.E., 2001. Turfgrass traffic simulators: a description of two self-propelled device simulating wear and compaction stress injury. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 9, 347–352.
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Sifers, S.I., Beard, J.B., 1993. Comparative inter-and intra-specific leaf firing resistance to supraoptimal air and soil temps in cool-season turfgrass genotypes, in: Carrow, R.N., Christians, N.E., Shearman, R.C. (Eds.), Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J., vol. 7. Intertec Publishing Corp., Overland Park, KS, USA, pp. 621–628. Van Huylenbroeck, J.M., Lootens, P., Van Bockstaele, E., 1999. Photosynthetic characteristics of perennial ryegrass and red fescue turf-grass cultivars. Grass Forage Sci. 54, 267–274. Veronesi, F., Falcinelli, M., Lucaroni, B., Russi, L., 1997. Scelte varietali in loietto inglese (Lolium perenne L.), poa pratense (Poa pratensis L.) festuca rossa (Festuca rubra L.) e festuca arundinacea (Festuca arundi-
nacea Schreb.) per il loro utilizzo nella conduzione di tappeti erbosi ad uso tecnico, sportivo e ricreativo in centro Italia. Rivista di Agronomia 31, 127–134. Volterrani, M., Miele, S., Magni, S., Gaetani, M., Pardini, G., 2001. Bermudagrass and seashore paspalum winter overseeded with seven cool-season turfgrasses. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 9, 957–961 (riportato). Volterrani, M., Grossi, N., Gaetani, M., Pardini, G., Miele, S., 1997. Confronto varietale di specie graminacee microterme per tappeti erbosi. Nota I: tempo di emergenza, velocit`a di crescita, densit`a, larghezza e contenuto azotato delle lamine fogliari. Rivista di Agronomia 31, 118– 126.
Cool-season turf grass species adaptability in Mediterranean environments and quality traits of varieties Pasquale Martiniello ∗ , Egisto D’Andrea CRA Istituto Sperimentale Colture Foraggere, Via Napoli 52, 71100 Foggia, Italy Received 23 September 2005; received in revised form 14 May 2006; accepted 30 May 2006
Abstract Public and private sport turfgrass fields in areas with a Mediterranean climate are largely based on cool-season grasses. The widespread use of these turfgrasses in such environments has been ascribed to their availability on the seed market. The large number of cool-season cultivars of all turf species are generally released in northern Europe, Canada and the USA. Thus, the appropriate use of turf for implanting lawns requires field evaluation of the genotypes in sites with a Mediterranean climate to assess the behaviour of cultivars during the growing period. Our study aimed to evaluate the adaptability and quality of the most popular varieties of cool-season turfgrass species in a Mediterranean site in southern Italy. Forty varieties of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), 20 Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and 10 cultivars for each species of creeping red (Festuca rubra spp. rubra L.), chewing red (Festuca rubra spp. commutata Gaud.) and slender creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra spp. tricophylla Gaud. (Richter), were evaluated for 5 years in a replicated experimental block group design. On the varieties of each species turf quality, colour and cover were determined by using a visual score (1–9), assessed monthly from January to December, from 1999 to 2003. Kentucky bluegrass achieved lower scores in turf quality, colour and cover in winter, spring and autumn, and red fescue subspecies in spring and summer, than perennial ryegrass and tall fescue. Perennial ryegrass and tall fescue genotypes were better able than those of Kentucky bluegrass to cope with the climatic condition. The establishment of the varieties to the environment is determined by cluster analysis which identified for each trait of all turfgrass species, a group of varieties with superior performance and adaptability to cope in Mediterranean environmental conditions. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Adaptability; Cool-season turfgrass; Tall and red fescue; Kentucky bluegrass; Perennial ryegrass; Turf quality; Mediterranean environment
1. Introduction The cool-season turfgrass species of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Screb.) are widely used for established turf lawns in public and private parks, athletic fields, golf course tees, fairways and roughs. The cultivars of these cool-season turfgrasses are the dominant genotypes utilised for implanting lawns in the countries of the Mediterranean basin (Veronesi et al., 1997; Volterrani et al., 1997; Russi et al., 2001; Martiniello, 2005). The factor which mainly contributes to their popularity is the availability of the cultivars on the seed market. The common varieties of cool-season turfgrass species have been developed from public institutions and breeding companies in
∗
Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 0881 741632; fax: +39 0881 741632. E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Martiniello).
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Canada, northern Europe and the USA (Table 1). Thus knowledge on adaptability to weather conditions allows us to identify turfgrass species and genotypes better able to tolerate and exploit the resources of the environments (Daget, 1985; Beard, 1989; Van Huylenbroeck et al., 1999; Shearman et al., 2001). Cool-season turfgrasses exhibit optimal growth at 16–24 ◦ C with reduction of impaired growth when the temperature reaches 33 ◦ C (Beard, 1973; Van Huylenbroeck et al., 1999). The weather conditions during the summer months in locations with a typical Mediterranean climate may entail a prolonged period of drought stress which reduces the physiological activity of turf growth and hence the quality of the lawn (Beard and Sifers, 1997; Jiang and Huang, 2001). Cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and tall fescue turfgrass species present large performance variability and different responses to weather conditions. Genetic information on the environmental adaptability of the most popular varieties of cool-season species may be determined by direct
P. Martiniello, E. D’Andrea / Europ. J. Agronomy 25 (2006) 234–242 Table 1 List and origin of turfgrass varieties evaluated in the experiment Variety name Cool-season grasses Lolium perenne Accolade Advent Amadeus Athena Barcredo Barrage Brighstar Caddy Capri Chagall Chaparral Charger II Concerto Darius Envy Essence Fragment Gator Henrietta Kaiser Kelvin Leon Lex86 Lisabelle Livonne Lorettanova Marabella Milton Montreux Numan Palmer Pazsit Pickwick Rival Roadrunner Ronja Sublime Talgo Titus Verdi Poa pratensis Alpine Balin Barcelona Bartitia Cocktail Compact Conni Cynthia Eva Fortuna Haga Midnight Miracle Moonlight Optigreen Princeton Saskia Stola Szarvas
Origin
DK NL NL USA NL NL USA NL DK NL USA USA F NL USA NL NL NL D I NL NL NL D D D D NL NL NL F H DK NL USA SW NL NL NL F DK DK NL NL NL DK DK NL SW NL SW USA NL USA USA F NL D H
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Table 1 (Continued ) Variety name Unique
Origin USA
Festuca arundinacea Amalia Asterix Barbizon Cochise Eldorado Elegance Emperor Houndog V Lara Matador Miro Murray Olga Regiment Safari Sinfonia Strand Tar Heel Titan Villageoise
F NL NL DK USA D USA NL I USA NL NL NL NL USA F H USA USA F
Festuca rubra spp. rubra Barcorsa Felix Franklin Gentil Kristina Laxton Pernilla Robin Rubina Rudax
NL NL NL NL SW DK DK D DK I
Festuca rubra spp. commutata Bargreen Carina Center Licato Olivia Rainbow Samt Tatjana Waldorf Wilma
NL DK NL D NL NL D DK NL SW
Festuca rubra spp. tricophylla Barcrown Bornado Dawson Estica Liprosa Lovisa Napoli Rufilla Seabreeze Suzette
NL D NL NL D SW DK NL USA DK
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field comparison in a broad range of environments (Sifers and Beard, 1993; Ervin, 1995). In field experiment carried out in the USA, cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass was grouped, according to morphological and physiological similarity, into seven homogeneous clusters whose genotypes belonging to the same group are characterized to be endowed with genetic mechanisms able to better cope weather conditions (Murphy et al., 1997). The present study investigates the adaptability and establishment of the most popular 110 varieties of the six cool-season turfgrass species in a site with a typical Mediterranean climate (Table 1). Field evaluation aimed to assess the performance and adaptability of turf quality, turf colour and turf cover parameters over the 5 years of evaluation; for each species identify, on the base of a cluster method statistical analysis of the all data, the varieties best adapted to implanting turf green lawn in Mediterranean environments. 2. Materials and methods The experiments were established in October 1998 at the A. Menichella Farm, located at Foggia (15◦ 13E, 41◦ 18N and 76 m above sea level). During the study period the site had a mean of annual rainfall of 466 mm, a daily mean temperature of 15.9 ◦ C and total water ETo from Class A water pan of 1680 mm (Fig. 1). Most of the annual rainfall (80%) occurs from October to June; in the remaining months the amount of rainfall may be considered erratic (Martiniello, 2001). The soil is a Chromic Vertisol (FAO-ISRIC-ISSS, 1998) with an aridity index = 15 (De Martonne, 1926) and with the following characteristics: coarse sand (2–0.2 mm) 360 g kg−1 ; fine sand (0.2–0.02 mm) 110 g kg−1 ; silt (0.02–0.002 mm) 430 g kg−1 ; clay < 0.002 mm) 100 g kg−1 ; pH (water) 8.2; cation exchange capacity 456 cmole g−1 ; total (CaCO3 ) 89 g kg−1 ; total nitrogen (Kjeldal) 1.3 g kg−1 ; organic matter (Walkley-Black) 23 g kg−1 ; available phosphorus 17 mg kg−1 ; exchangeable potassium 920 mg kg−1 . The seedbed was made by disrupting a legume fallow with a mouldboard ploughed 35 cm deep at the beginning of September. Before seedbed preparation, the experimental field was equipped with a permanent irrigation system based on buried pipes equipped with automatic disappearing rotary sprinklers. The amount of water distributed by the irrigation system took account of seasonal rainfall and ETo. To avoid drought stress during turfgrass growth, water was applied when the top soil moisture content reached pF 4.0 (85–90% of water holding capacity). Volume of water and number of waterings applied in the study year are reported in Table 2. Prior to seeding, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers were applied at a rate of 30 kg ha−1 of N and 72 kg ha−1 P2 O5 , respectively, before smoothing the soil with a field cultivator and tine harrow. In the first week of October 1998, seed of 40 varieties of perennial ryegrass, 20 of both Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue and 10 varieties each of creeping red, chewing red and slender creeping red fescue were hand sown in plots of 6 m2 (2 m × 3 m) at the seed rate of 25 g m−2 for Kentucky bluegrass and 40 g m−2 for the varieties of other turf grass species (Table 1). Plots were arranged in a group block design with three replicates (Gomez and Gomez, 1984).
Table 2 Clippings, water irrigations and total water applied by season and year in a Mediterranean environment Agronomic intervention
Year 1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Clippings (no.) Spring Summer Autumn Winter
12 18 11 3
11 15 8 3
13 17 7 3
12 14 8 3
9 12 9 3
Total cuts
44
37
40
37
33
Water irrigation (no.) Spring Summer Autumn Winter
13 29 7 1
12 37 13 2
13 39 11 0
9 34 11 0
10 35 9 0
Total irrigations
50
64
63
54
54
Water applied (mm) Spring Summer Autumn Winter
273 609 147 21
252 777 273 42
273 819 231 0
189 714 231 0
210 735 189 0
1050
1344
1323
1134
1134
Total water volume
When required, dicotyledonous weed encroachment was controlled by herbicide while the monocotyledons were hand pulled. Nitrogen fertiliser was manually applied in all entries at a rate of 15 g m−2 yr−1 in four rounds (beginning of October, January, April and July) while phosphorus was applied at a rate of 4 g m−2 yr−1 of P2 O5 as superphosphate fertiliser in the winter time prior to aeration of the turfgreen. In February, the plots were aerated using self-propelling equipment with a hollow core with a 16 mm tines on 60 mm spacing. The plots were mown at a height of 3.5 cm when the turfgrass was 5.5 cm tall by using a riding triplex mower, recovering and discarding the clippings. The number of clippings by season is reported in Table 2. Turfgrass quality was assessed by a visual score based on a 1–9 scale, as used in the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program in the USA. The lowest level (1) defines very poor turf quality, light green turf and bare soil while the highest level (9) indicates outstanding turf quality, dark green turf and very dense cover. Scoring was carried out on a monthly basis from January to December during the period of field tests from 1999 to 2003. Statistical analysis was conducted separately for each turfgrass species by using PROC ANOVA procedure of the SAS (SAS Institute, 1997). In the model the turfgrass species were analysed according to split-plot in time where evaluation year was considered a main plot. The arcsine transformation (arcsin × (SQRT(X/100)) × 52.3) was made on data before analysis. The ANOVA analysis was established on values of plot varieties averaged over months in each season. The effects of seasons over the study years and their interaction, were established by processing the data derived from the mean of varieties belonging to the turfgrass species. Statistical analysis was performed considering the variety as a random factor and year and season as
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Fig. 1. Mean monthly ETo, rainfall and temperature occurred in the site of experiment from 1999 to 2003.
fixed factors. To identify the variety of each turfgrass species with the highest adaptability to the environmental conditions in question, all the observations recorded across the period of evaluation of turf quality, in terms of colour and cover parameters, were analysed according to the Scott and Knott (1974) cluster technique as described by Gates and Bilbro (1978). The data of each parameter were grouped according to the null distribution of λ. This statistic, as defined by Edwards and Cavalli-Sforza (1965), when applied to univariate means of data, is a random
variable with Student’s distribution. Calculation of λ partitions the mean varieties of parameters in groups, for which the intergroup and intra-group showed a maximum and minimum sum square variability, respectively. Analysis of data across the five study years identifies, on the basis of the likelihood ratio test (Gates and Bilbro, 1978), two cluster groups. The means within each cluster group had minimum mean square interactions and were not statistically significant while the means between clusters were significant at P ≥ 0.05 level of probability.
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3. Results Mean temperature, rainfall and ETo occurring in the months during the period of turf growth (Fig. 1) had different effects on turf quality, colour and cover traits of the varieties in all turfgrass species. Analysis of variance revealed significant year, season and variety effects for turf quality, colour and cover traits in all turfgrass species. Year and season and their interaction (Y × S) were the source of variation which produced the most significant difference in turf quality, colour and cover traits in all turfgrass species. The two factor interaction (Y × V) affected all turfgrass quality traits in perennial ryegrass and tall fescue, turf colour and cover in creeping, turf cover in chewing and turf quality in slender chewing red fescue while the interaction (S × V) influenced the trait turf colour in creeping and chewing red fescue and tall fescue; turf quality and colour in perennial ryegrass. By contrast the other two-three factor interactions, except turf quality colour and cover traits in Kentucky bluegrass, were statistically not significant (Table 3). All turfgrass species are best adapted to spring for the traits considered in the experiments than the other seasons. In this season, the best adaptability for turf quality, colour and cover traits was observed in tall fescue turfgrass species (Table 4). Mean spring season values of tall fescue were about 5.7% higher in turf quality, colour and cover traits than the corresponding mean of other seasons (Table 4). The best adaptability of turf quality, colour and cover traits of creeping, chewing and slender chewing red fescue was observed in winter season (Table 4). The scores of these winter turfgrass species were higher (17, 16 and 11%, respectively for turf quality, colour and cover traits) than those of other turfgrass species. Scores for these traits in other seasons showed the opposite trend (Table 4). The reduction in scores in all subspecies of red fescue, in summer and autumn, range from 25.6% in turf quality to 1% in turf colour (Table 4). Average scores (over the years and seasons) of tall fescue were higher than those of perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass and red fescue subspecies, respectively by 7.9, 19.7 and 15.3% in turf quality; 6.8, 12.1 and 15.3% in turf colour and 3.9, 21.1 and 13.2% in turf cover. The summer mean values of turf quality traits (5.5, 5.4 and 6.1% of turf quality, colour and cover, respectively) observed in red fescue subspecies were the lowest scores recorded in the turfgrasses species (Table 4). Among red fescue, the chewing red was the subspecies best adapted to weather conditions of Mediterranean environments. In this turfgrass subspecies, turf quality, colour and cover scores in autumn were, respectively, 9.2, 4.9 and 3.5% higher than the means of creeping and slender creeping red fescue while in all subspecies the variation among turf parameters observed in the other seasons were statistically not significant (Table 4). Scott and Knott’s (1974) cluster method analysis identify for each trait of turfgrass species, two groups of varieties whose means (i.e. the average of the selected and discarded group) were statistically significant while the means of varieties within the group were not. Our results showed a wide range of adaptability of the turfgrass species varieties to weather conditions. The cluster group
Table 3 Analysis of variance of the effects of year (Y), season (S) and variety (V) on turf quality, colour and cover traits in turf grass species grown in a Mediterranean environment Source of variation
d.f.
Kentucky bluegrass Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V) Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error Perennial ryegrass Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V) Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error
Turf (1–9) Quality
Colour
Cover
4 3 19
83.7** 411.0** 19.0**
90.2** 443.6** 12.4**
176.1** 486.2** 22.0**
12 76 57 228 798
26.6** 6.0** 2.9** 2.4** 1.8
25.3** 3.3** 3.4** 1.3** 1.2
29.3** 5.8** 3.9** 2.9* 2.4
4 3 39
28.6** 592.9** 14.9**
142.8** 418.5** 24.4**
61.1** 327.9** 15.4**
12 156 117 468 1598
Tall fescue Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V)
4 3 19
Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error
12 76 57 228 798
Red fescue spp.rubra Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V) Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error Red fescue spp.commutata Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V) Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error Red fescue spp.tricophylla Year (Y) Season (S) Variety (V)
4 3 9 12 36 27 108 398
4 3 9 12 36 27 108 398
4 3 9
76.9** 1.8** 1.5** 0.7 ns 0.8 71.4** 235.5** 1.8** 8.6** 0.9* 0.6 ns 0.5 ns 0.7
32.9** 1.4** 1.4** 0.7 ns 0.8 81.0** 325.5** 2.8** 5.3** 1.1** 1.3** 0.5 ns 0.6
95.3** 2.0** 1.4 ns 1.2 ns 1.2 77.7** 287.2** 2.4** 7.5** 1.8** 0.8 ns 1.0 ns 1.2
37.7** 45.8** 8.7**
7.9** 98.5** 11.6**
70.5** 32.3** 6.9**
23.5** 1.4 ns 1.5 ns 0.6 ns 1.2
22.8** 2.1** 2.1** 0.8 ns 1.3
19.9** 2.6** 1.7 ns 1.3 ns 1.8
33.7** 40.2** 8.0** 19.9** 1.9 ns 1.6 ns 0.8 ns 1.4
93.7** 81.2** 10.4**
22.1** 129.5** 11.5** 18.8** 1.6 ns 2.0* 0.5 ns 1.2
38.7** 115.9** 9.1**
86.5** 14.5** 8.3** 39.7** 4.2** 3.2 ns 1.4 ns 2.1
116.4** 79.3** 10.4**
P. Martiniello, E. D’Andrea / Europ. J. Agronomy 25 (2006) 234–242 Table 3 (Continued ) Source of variation
Interaction Y×S Y×V S×V Y×S×V Error *,** Significant
d.f.
12 36 27 108 398
239
Table 5 Means over years of turf parameters in Perennial ryegrass in the selected and discarded homogeneous group and means of variety in the selected group
Turf (1–9) Quality
Colour
Cover
20.0** 2.4** 1.7 ns 1.1 ns 1.5
20.8** 1.8 ns 1.8 ns 0.8 ns 1.3
30.1** 3.1 ns 2.3 ns 2.1 ns 2.2
at the 0.05 and 0.01 probability levels, respectively, ns: not sig-
nificant.
of selected mean turf quality, colour and cover traits included in each turfgrass species a different number of varieties. The percentages of the total number of varieties belonging to the selected cluster were for turf quality, colour and cover traits, respectively 40, 27 and 20% in perennial ryegrass (Table 5); 85, 60 and 15% in Kentucky bluegrass (Table 6); 20, 35 and 30% in tall fescue (Table 7); 50, 40 and 30% in creeping red; 40, 50 and 40% in chewing red and 30, 30 and 20% in slender creeping red fescue (Table 8). In all turfgrass species, turf cover, because evaluated plant development, was the parameter most affected by weather conditions. The mean values of the selected group of turf quality, colour and cover of peren-
Species and variety
Turf parameter (1–9) Quality
Colour
Cover
Perennial ryegrass Charger II Chaparal Roadranner Brightstar Verdi Sublime Advent Amadeus Pickwick Kelvin Capri Gator Amadeus Kaiser Essence Lex86
7.9 7.9 7.8 7.8 7.8 7.5 7.5 7.4 7.3 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.1 7.1
8.0 7.9 8.2 8.1 7.5 7.8 7.5 7.6 7.3
8.3 8.1 8.4 8.1 7.7 8.2 7.7 8.8
Mean selected Mean discarded
7.4 6.6
7.7 7.0
7.3 7.4
8.1 7.2
Table 4 Mean turfgrass scores by season in turf quality, colour and cover in a Mediterranean environment Cool-season species
Winter (1–9)
Spring (1–9)
Summer (1–9)
Autumn (1–9)
Mean
LSD0.05
Turf quality Perennial ryegrass Kentucky bluegrass Tall fescue Creeping red fescue Chewing red fescue Slender creeping red fescue
5.9 4.9 6.6 6.8 7.1 7.1
7.4 6.5 8.3 6.3 6.6 6.6
7.4 6.9 8.0 5.6 5.8 5.1
7.1 6.3 7.5 6.5 7.1 6.4
7.0 6.1 7.6 6.3 6.7 6.3
0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3
Mean
6.4
7.0
6.5
6.8
LSD0.05
0.3
0.3
0.4
0.2
Turf colour Perennial ryegrass Kentucky bluegrass Tall fescue Creeping red fescue Chewing red fescue Slender creeping red fescue
5.7 5.3 6.4 6.9 6.8 7.0
7.4 7.2 8.1 6.2 6.7 6.5
7.3 7.2 7.9 5.5 5.6 5.1
7.2 6.4 7.3 6.7 7.2 7.0
Mean
6.3
7.0
6.4
7.0
LSD0.05
0.2
0.2
0.4
0.1
Turf cover Perennial ryegrass Kentucky bluegrass Tall fescue Creeping red fescue Chewing red fescue Slender creeping red fescue
6.4 4.6 6.3 6.4 6.6 6.5
7.9 6.3 8.0 6.8 6.8 7.0
7.7 6.9 8.2 6.0 6.5 5.7
7.3 6.1 7.8 6.8 7.1 6.9
Mean
6.2
7.1
6.8
7.0
LSD0.05
0.3
0.2
0.3
0.2
0.1
6.9 6.5 7.4 6.3 6.6 6.4
0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1
7.3 6.0 7.6 6.5 6.7 6.6
0.2 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1
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Table 6 Mean turf parameters (1999–2003) in Kentucky bluegrass in the selected and discarded homogeneous group and means of variety in the selected group
Table 8 Means over years of turf parameters in three red fescues in the selected and discarded homogeneous group and means of variety in the selected group
Species and variety
Species and variety
Turf parameter (1–9) Quality
Kentucky bluegrass Compact Cocktail Princeton Conni Haga Saskia Balin Fortuna Cynthia Midnight Barcelona Unique Szarvas Miracle Optigreen Alpine Eva
6.8 6.6 6.6 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.4 6.3 6.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.0 6.0 6.0
Mean selected Mean discarded
6.3 5.2
Colour
6.6 7.2 6.9 6.6 6.9 6.4 6.8
Cover 6.7 6.5
6.9
6.9 6.6 6.7
6.6 6.7 6.3
6.7 5.8
nial ryegrass and tall fescue (Tables 5 and 7) were higher than those of Kentucky bluegrass species and all subspecies of red fescue (Tables 7 and 8). The turfgrass fescues (tall and red fescue) were the species with the most varieties in the selected group of turf cover than other traits, showing higher adaptability of the genotypes to Mediterranean climatic conditions. Furthermore, given the variation among genotype means belonging to the selected cluster group of turf quality and turf cover traits in tall fescue, lower than those of other species, the varieties in this cluster group may well be physiologically better endowed to cope with the climatic conditions of Mediterranean environments. Mean turf quality, colour and cover of selected and discarded clusters differed among clusters and turfgrass species. Table 7 Mean turf parameters (1999–2003) in tall fescue in the selected and discarded homogeneous group and means of variety in the selected group Species and variety
F. arundinacea Matador Sinfonia Tar Hell Amalia Barbizon Safari Eldorado Lara Asterix Mean selected Mean discarded
Turf parameter (1–9) Quality
Colour
Cover
8.1 7.8 7.8 7.8
7.7
8.0 7.9
7.9 6.9
Quality
Colour
Cover
Creeping red fescue Laxton Pernilla Rudax Rubinia Kristina Gentil
6.8 6.8 6.5 6.4 6.4
6.7 6.8 6.5
6.8 6.9 6.7
Mean selected Mean discarded
6.6 6.0
6.6 6.1
6.8 6.3
7.2 7.1 6.8 6.8
7.3 6.7 6.9 6.8 6.6
7.1 7.2
Chewing red fescue Samat Waldorf Olivia Bargreen Center Carina
6.5
7.8 7.7 7.6 7.6 7.5 7.5
7.7 7.8 7.8
7.6 7.3
7.8 7.4
7.6
Turf parameter (1–9)
Mean selected Mean discarded Slander creeping red fesue Seabreeze Barcrown Suzette Mean selected Mean discarded
6.6 6.4
7.0 6.8
7.0 6.4
6.9 6.2
7.0 6.5
6.9 6.8 6.6
6.7 6.8 6.7
7.3 6.8
6.7 6.0
6.7 6.2
7.1 6.4
The parameters of genotypes belonging to mean values of the discarded cluster were more strongly affected by environmental conditions than those of selected groups. Between selected and discarded groups, turf quality, colour and cover showed a respective average reduction of 11.6, 6.9 and 8.1%. The mean values of discarded groups were lower than the selected ones in turf quality, colour and cover traits, respectively by 10.8, 9.1 and 11.1% in perennial ryegrass; 17.4, 6.0 and 13.4% in Kentucky bluegrass; 12.7, 3.9 and 5.1% in tall fescue; 9.1, 7.6 and 7.4% in creeping; 8.6, 10.1 and 7.1% in chewing and 10.5, 7.5 and 9.9% in slender chewing red fescue. Perennial ryegrass and tall fescue scored more highly in all turf parameters than Kentucky bluegrass and all subspecies of red fescue. 4. Discussion The varieties of turf grass species adapted differently to the weather condition occurring across seasons of the year evaluated, and turfgrass species also developed differently in Mediterranean environments (Table 3). According to the results reported by Gullino and Mocioni (2000) and Belisario et al. (2001), environmental conditions differently influenced the susceptibility of pathogen agents in cool-season turfgrass species. Pathologic observations made on the experiment by Corazza et al. (2001) in Kentucky bluegrass evidenced that the lower scores observed in all traits across the seasons (particularly in winter and autumn
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rather than summer) were mainly due to high fungi susceptibility of the varieties to the rust pathogen agent (Puccinia graminis and Puccinia striiformis). The higher values observed in Kentucky bluegrass in turf quality and cover traits (respectively, 6.9 and 6.3% in turf colour and cover) may be ascribed, as reported by Corazza et al. (2001) and Belisario et al. (2001) on observations established in this experiment, to lower pathogen infection than other seasons which, as consequences of high humidity, the cultivars resulted more susceptible to fungi diseases. Whatever, the high values of turf quality and turf cover traits observed in summer in tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass were ascribed to greater adaptability to dry environmental conditions in tall fescue (Huang and Fu, 2001); the reduction in pathogen injury in Kentucky bluegrass was considered a consequence of unfavourable development of fungi during summer months (Belisario et al., 2001; Keeley and Koski, 2001). The differences in scores observed among seasons in turf quality, colour and cover traits in all subspecies of red fescue proved the better growth adaptability of genotypes to climatic conditions of the winter and autumn months rather than those of other seasons. However, the better winter activity observed in the varieties of creeping red fescue than those of other subspecies, according to Van Huylenbroeck et al. (1999), Belisario et al. (2001) and Volterrani et al. (2001) may be ascribed to more efficient biological mechanisms in winter and susceptibility to pathogen agents in summer (Fusarium culmorum and Bipolaris sorokiniana) than other seasons. The reduced adaptability observed in summer season of the all traits of red fescue subspecies may be attributed to the negative effect of weather conditions occurring in this period on plant development (Table 4). The adaptability among varieties of turf parameters to exploit the environmental condition differed among cool-season species. The Scott and Knott (1974) cluster method may be considered appropriate to discover varieties, in each turfgrass species, with turf parameters endowed with physiological mechanisms which are able to perform better in the environmental conditions of the experiment. In agreement with the inferences of Murphy et al. (1997) made on the homogenous group of Kentucky bermudagrass, the varieties present in the selected cluster group may be expected to be endowed with genetic mechanism able to better tolerate and perform the yearly weather conditions.
5. Conclusions Varieties of cool-season turfgrass species adapted differently to environmental events occurring during the study seasons. Cultivars of red fescue subspecies had turf quality traits which, due to environmental stress acting on plant development, performed better in winter and autumn than other seasons. The variety presents in all selected cluster groups of turf quality, colour and cover traits showed low interaction with environmental factors (year and season), conferring better performance to tolerate the environmental Mediterranean climate.
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Acknowledgements Research was funded by the special project “Inerbimenti e tappeti erbosi per la valorizzazione agricola, ricreativa e sportiva del territorio” of the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policy. Paper no. 159.
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