Poa trivialis, Lolium perenne or Poa annua as nurse crops for faster establishment of Agrostis stolonifera putting greens in Nordic climates

Abstract

Seed mixtures with a nurse grass that germinates quickly at low soil temperatures can be an option for faster establishment of Agrostis stolonifera (AS) putting greens after winter damage. From 2015 to 2018 Poa trivialis (PT) 'Dark Horse' and Lolium perenne (LP) 'Chardin' were evaluated as nurse grasses in comparison with pure AS 'Independence' at two experimental sites in each of the two major climatic zones of the Nordic countries. Poa annua (PA) 'Two-Putt' was also included as a nurse grass in the northern zone. As an overall trend, establishment was faster with AS+LP than with AS+PT and AS+PA, which both had faster establishment than pure AS. In the northern zone, AS+PT produced better turf quality than pure AS in the seeding year and year after and tended to be superior even on average for the entire trial period (mean value 6.0 versus 5.8 for pure AS, 5.3 for AS+LP, and 4.6 for AS+PA; scale 1-9 where 9 is the highest quality). Within the same zone, AS+PT also suffered less overall winter damage than the other combinations and was less infected with microdochium patch than pure AS. In the southern zone, PT and especially LP were far more persistent than in the northern zone and compromised turfgrass quality compared with pure AS. In conclusion, we recommend PT as a nurse grass for faster establishment of AS putting in the northern zone, but not in the southern zone where AS should rather be seeded in a pure stand.

Practical reestablishment of golf greens following winter damages – A field study

“…The usual method is to verticut or brush after the rough bluegrass has established and the turf cover is homogeneous. Heltoft et al (2021) recently documented higher turf quality on mixed rough bluegrass / creeping bentgrass greens than on pure creeping bentgrass greens, not only in the seeding year but also in the year after.…”

“…Heltoft et al. (2021) recently documented higher turf quality on mixed rough bluegrass / creeping bentgrass greens than on pure creeping bentgrass greens, not only in the seeding year but also in the year after.…”