Promoting Late-Fall Establishment of Tall Fescue with Soil Covers
2007
Palazzo, Antonio J. | Bailey, Ronald N. | Diener, Carl
Turfgrass seedings frequently have been sown in the late fall, which usually results in a poor vegetative stand the following spring. This study evaluated the effects of a spun-bonded polypropylene soil cover placed over a late-fall seeding on subsequent seedling growth and overwintering. Clemfine, Mustang, Rebel and Rebel II cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) were sown on a silt loam soil in late fall (on 17 October in 1989 and 19 October in 1990) and allowed to grow with and without a soil cover until June. From mid-April through May the temperature under the soil cover was more than 2 deg C higher than the uncovered soil. Over the winter, leaf and root weights showed no detrimental effects from being under the cover. All cultivars had similar amounts of growth under the cover and produced 2 to 11 times greater leaf yields and 38 to 270% better stand establishment than those sown on the exposed soil. However, plant winter injury was observed under the soil cover in small soil depressions, which accumulated water originating from thawing. The covers also promoted weed growth, which was negatively correlated to the yields of the sown grass. Plant carbohydrate levels were lower beneath the soil cover than in the control, but the reduction was not sufficient to reduce spring growth. The soil cover was found to be beneficial to the establishment of late seedings of tall fescue in cold areas.... Grass, Soil covers, Revegetation, Turfgrass.
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