Review of cool‐season turfgrass water use and requirements: II. Responses to drought stress

Abstract

Knowledge of drought resistance of cool-season turfgrasses is important because drought stress can occur wherever they are grown even in humid regions with wet climates. This review is Part II of two companion papers that review water use and requirements in cool-season turfgrasses. Part I presented the history of early water conservation and quantification methods in turfgrass and then summarized research results since 1980 on cool-season turfgrass evapotranspiration and deficit irrigation. Part II presents a brief history of drought research and then summarizes studies completed since 1980 on cool-season turfgrass drought resistance including interspecies and intraspecies differences. This overview of research regarding drought resistance covers >30 field experiments that evaluated drought response to irrigation amounts, length of dry down, and the influence of environmental and management factors. More cool-season turf research has focused on intraspecies variation in drought resistance of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) or tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) than any other cool-season turf species; therefore, more research is needed on other cool-season turfgrass species, such as perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), bentgrasses (Agrostis L. ssp.), and fine fescues (Festuca L. spp.). Further study is warranted to investigate differences in drought resistance strategies among plants and management practices, shoot and root responses, subsequent recovery, and interand intraspecies variation in cool-season turfgrasses especially in northern climatic regions where cool-season turf species are adapted. Improvement of drought resistance in cool-season turfgrasses will require focused breeding efforts with acute drought screening protocols.

Plant functional trait responses to cope with drought in seven cool-season grasses

“…Consistent with our results, Norton et al 35 and Reed et al 36 reported partial S/SP in Festuca arundinacea . Other studies have addressed summer dormancy in Kentucky bluegrass 37 – 39 and Perennial ryegrass 40 . It also reported that some cool-season grass species from the Mediterranean basin such as Festuca arundinacea Schreb.…”

Variation for turfgrass performance in a set of Lolium perenne germplasm evaluated under limited irrigation

“…ryegrass, will need adaptation to deficit irrigation for continued production in irrigated settings (Braun et al, 2022a;2022b). We found substantial variation within these populations for each of the four traits and found that the population variation was the largest source of variation for each trait.…”

“…The primary aim of this research was to estimate the variation among the included perennial ryegrass populations for turfgrass dark green color, ground cover, density, and quality when managed by replacing only 60% of the weekly evapotranspiration with irrigation and with two mowing heights. New cool‐season turfgrass cultivars, including perennial ryegrass, will need adaptation to deficit irrigation for continued production in irrigated settings (Braun et al., 2022a; 2022b). We found substantial variation within these populations for each of the four traits and found that the population variation was the largest source of variation for each trait.…”

Water use and management practices on U.S. golf courses

“…Pruning tree roots generally occurs at the boundary where the rough and fairway adjoin in locations where tree roots may compete with turfgrass for water resources, resulting in reduced turfgrass quality. Research efforts into breeding turfgrass have resulted in a wide selection of drought‐tolerant cool‐ and warm‐season turfgrasses (Braun et al., 2022; Katuwal et al., 2022). The wider selection and availability of drought‐tolerant turfgrasses is likely to be a primary reason why more facilities are adopting their use.…”