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Drought stress is a major factor‐limiting grass growth. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) increases under stress conditions and causes cell oxidative damage. This study investigated the effect of sodium nitroprusside [a nitric oxide (NO) donor] treatment on drought stress in two turfgrass species, creeping bentgrass and tall fescue. Physiological characteristics such as relative water content (RWC), ion leakage, chlorophyll and proline content, and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) were evaluated after 40 d drought stress and in the recovery stage. Results showed that nitric oxide (NO) treatment, especially 150 μm, could maintain significantly higher RWC and reduce ion leakage under drought stress conditions in both species. Furthermore, both turfgrass species showed higher chlorophyll and proline content after drought stress period when sprayed with NO, while chlorophyll and proline content of control plants declined. Drought stress significantly reduced SOD and APX activity, while NO treatment induced higher SOD and APX activity under drought conditions. After recovery, leaf RWC returned to the control level; however, NO‐sprayed plants showed higher RWC compared to controls. Both turfgrass species exhibited lower chlorophyll content at the recovery stage when exposed to severe drought stress, and NO application increased chlorophyll content compared to controls. No significant differences were found between NO treatment and control plants for proline and SOD activity, but APX activity of NO‐sprayed plants was higher than in the control plants. These results suggest that foliar application of NO may alleviate drought stress in turfgrass by maintaining membrane stability and inducing antioxidant enzyme activity.

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