ABSTRACT. Winter turfgrass injury is one of the critical problems of many golf courses in Korea. Turfgrass loss from freezing injury due to low temperature leads to many types of damages including weed invasion, increased herbicide cost, increased soil erosion, and expensive re-establishment. Although Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) which is the most widely used among cool-season grasses in Korea is well known as cold tolerance species, freezing injuries to Kentucky bluegrass during winter are often found. Protecting the turfgrass crown is necessary to recover from low temperature stress in winter because shoots and roots can be recovered from the crown. Turf covers may protect the crowns from direct low temperatures and desiccation. Six different turf covers were installed to cover Kentucky bluegrass during a period of low temperatures. Turf covers had positive effects for spring green-up of Kentucky bluegrass based on the study. Applying any type of turf covers on Kentucky bluegrass resulted in an increase average and minimum temperature compared to the uncovered plot. Among turf covers, clear PVC film without holes produced the longest root length and the highest turfgrass quality.

The use of zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) in the transition zone is limited because of a lack of cold hardiness although zoysiagrass has many advantages compared to other warm-season and cool-season grasses. Late-fall N fertilization is often applied for darker green color of turfgrass in early spring and more extensive root growth without rapid top growth. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of late fall N application and turf cover for zoysiagrass spring green-up. Clear polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film was used for turf cover. The amount of N applied were 5 and 10 g N m −2 for the low and high N rate treatments, respectively. Covered zoysiagrass had greater turfgrass color and quality in early spring than non-covered zoysiagrass. The high N rate had 0.6 to 2.3 greater turfgrass quality than the low N rate on 7 of 9 rating dates. Slow-release N as late fall fertilization is more effective for turfgrass color and quality than fast-release N in spring. Turf cover could reduce the period of yellow zoysiagrass, and the earlier time of spring green-up could be advanced by increasing turfgrass quality and growth of zoysiagrass.