Performance of various cool-season turfgrasses as influenced by simulated traffic in northeastern Italy

Abstract

Warm-season grasses are known to be more wear tolerant than cool-season grasses, but in northern Italy the latter are generally preferred for ornamental turfgrasses and athletics fields. The Po River valley, in the North of Italy, is a typical transition zone where species and cultivar selection play a very important role in establishing successful turfgrasses with high stress tolerance, including foot traffic. The aim of this research was to evaluate the traffic tolerance and adaptation of 25 cultivars of three coolseason turfgrass species to transitional growing conditions of Italy. A study was conducted over a two-year period at the experimental farm of Padova University in Legnaro. The species studied were tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum), kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Simulated traffic was applied using a Brinkman traffic simulator at a level equivalent to one soccer game per week. Turfgrass quality and density were assessed every week using a 1 to 9 visual scale during traffic treatments each year. Furthermore, turfgrass canopy height was measured weekly for calculating daily vertical growth rate (mm d-1) in spring, summer, and autumn. Trafficked plots exhibited lower quality than nontrafficked, primarily as a result of decline in turf density. The effect of traffic on density was more evident in the second year wherein all species exhibited ratings lower than 5.0. Traffic did not affect turf growth for perennial ryegrass and tall fescue, while a drastic decrease in growth rate in the second year of study was observed for kentucky bluegrass. Perennial ryegrass had lower density than tall fescue and kentucky bluegrass, especially in summer and autumn of the first year when it showed ratings lower than 6.0. Different responses occurred among kentucky bluegrass cultivars, while perennial ryegrass and tall fescue cultivars responded similarly. Results indicated a high quality and environmental adaptability of ‘Rhambler SRP’ tall fescue. Among kentucky bluegrass cultivars, ‘Mystere’ displayed the best wear tolerance with a decrease of density from 5.5 to 4.3 only during the second year. Perennial ryegrass cultivars were similarly affected by traffic, except for ‘Yorktown III’ which showed the lower performance in both traffic and non-traffic conditions reaching a turf density rating lower than 5.0 in both years of study.

Full text

Volume 81 | Issue 1 | February 2016 27


C. Pornaro1, E. Barolo2, F. Rimi1,3, S. Macolino1 and M. Richardson4
1 Department of Agronomy Food Natural Resources Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Italy
2 Agricultural Research Council (CRA SCS), Verona, Italy
3 Sakata Seed America, Inc., Morgan Hill, CA, USA
4 Department of Horticulture, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
Eur. J. Hortic. Sci. 81(1), 27–36 | ISSN 1611-4426 print, 1611-4434 online | http://dx.doi.org/10.17660/eJHS.2016/81.1.4 | © ISHS 2016
Original article German Society for
Horticultural Science
Introduction
The selection of species and cultivars is crucial for estab-
lishing high quality turfgrass in transition zones, and espe-


for the athletes. Turfgrass function and quality are affected
by wear and soil compaction, which have been indicated as
     
(Beard, 1973; Carrow and Petrovic, 1992). As the demand

for turfgrasses having high wear tolerance and quick recov-
-
age on aboveground plant parts results from the crushing,

the leaves, stems, and crowns (Beard, 1973; Shearman and
Beard, 1975a, 1975b; Shearman, 1988; Carrow and Petrovic,
Summary
Warm-season grasses are known to be more wear
tolerant than cool-season grasses, but in northern Italy
the latter are generally preferred for ornamental turf-
        
North of Italy, is a typical transition zone where species
and cultivar selection play a very important role in es-
tablishing successful turfgrasses with high stress toler-

   
       
season turfgrass species to transitional growing condi-
tions of Italy.
A study was conducted over a two-year period at
the experimental farm of Padova University in Legnaro.
The species studied were tall fescue (Lolium arundina-
ceum), kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), and peren-
nial ryegrass (Lolium perenne   
        
equivalent to one soccer game per week. Turfgrass qual-
ity and density were assessed every week using a 1 to 9
-
more, turfgrass canopy height was measured weekly for
calculating daily vertical growth rate (mm d-1) in spring,
summer, and autumn.
      

    
second year wherein all species exhibited ratings lower
      -
al ryegrass and tall fescue, while a drastic decrease in
growth rate in the second year of study was observed for
kentucky bluegrass. Perennial ryegrass had lower den-
sity than tall fescue and kentucky bluegrass, especially

ratings lower than 6.0. Different responses occurred
among kentucky bluegrass cultivars, while perennial
ryegrass and tall fescue cultivars responded similarly.
Results indicated a high quality and environmental
adaptability of ‘Rhambler SRP’ tall fescue. Among ken-
tucky bluegrass cultivars, ‘Mystere’ displayed the best
        
       
       
‘Yorktown III’ which showed the lower performance in
       

Keywords
cultivar, wear tolerance, transition zone, turf density, turf
quality, turf vertical growth

What is already known on this subject?
• Perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and kentucky bluegrass
are the most used species for establishing sports

wear tolerance of kentucky bluegrass when compared
with perennial ryegrass and tall fescue is reported
by different authors with contrasting results. Some
studies reported that perennial ryegrass has better
wear tolerance than kentucky bluegrass, while others
demonstrated that it has similar or lower compaction
tolerance.
What are the new findings?
• Results demonstrated that kentucky bluegrass culti-

‘Mystery’ displaying the best wear tolerance. In gen-
eral, perennial ryegrass cultivars performed poorly
during warmer months with ‘Yorktown III’ being the
worst performing. Among tall fescue cultivars,
‘Rhambler SRP’ showed a high quality and environ-
mental adaptability.
What is the expected impact on horticulture?
• The use of wear tolerant cultivars is the best way to
reduce the maintenance costs of sports turf areas.
Findings from this study will help turfgrass managers
in selecting cultivars and improving playability
of sport surfaces in northern Italy.

28 European Journal of Horticultural Science
1992; Trenholm et al., 2000). The detrimental effects of soil
compaction result in inhibited root system growth, reduced
soil drainage capabilities, and a decrease of soil macropores
(Feldman, 1984; Unger and Kaspar, 1994; Dest et al., 2009).
In northern Italy, cool-season grasses are generally pre-
ferred over warm-season grasses, although it has been dem-
onstrated that warm-season grasses have higher recupera-
tive potential than cool-season grasses (Puhalla et al., 1999).
Northern Italy is a typical transition zone, where the winter
dormancy of warm-season grasses results in a prolonged
loss of turfgrass color (Macolino et al., 2010), leading to the
widespread use of cool-season species in the region. Cool-
season grasses are also preferred because they perform well
during the cooler months (Bertrand et al., 2013), when ath-
-
es. Among cool-season species, perennial ryegrass, kentucky
bluegrass and tall fescue are considered to have high wear
tolerance (Minner and Valverde, 2005) and they are also the
 
climates (Puhalla et al., 1999).
Perennial ryegrass is widely used is northern Italy, since
it is best adapted to cool regions that have mild winters and
cool, moist summers. It is a non-creeping, bunch-type spe-
cies that forms a uniform sod of good density if properly es-
tablished and maintained and it is often used as a constituent
of winter sports turfs in moderate temperature regions, be-
cause of its high wear tolerance during winter (Beard, 1973).
Several studies tested wear stress in perennial ryegrass cul-
tivars (Shearman and Beard, 1975a; Fushtey et al., 1983; Den
Haan et al., 2009) analysing both quality and morphological
variation.
Kentucky bluegrass is one of the most popular species in
the Mediterranean countries of Europe for turf use and it is
widely adapted throughout the cool humid and transitional
climates of the world (Schery, 1965). This species is very
  
surfaces due to the vigorous rhizomes that encourage rapid

is large cultivar variability within kentucky bluegrass (Evans,
1988; Brosnan et al., 2005) and especially in the transition
zone (Abraham et al., 2004).
Tall fescue is usually referred to as a bunch grass with
limited ability to spread laterally. However, it has been
known that this species produces short rhizomes (Porter,
1958), and recently turfgrass breeders have produced cul-
tivars with more extensive rhizomes than traditional culti-
vars (Fry et al., 2009). Tall fescue is widely used in transi-
tion zones because it is generally considered one of the most
drought-tolerant cool-season species (Brede, 2000; Cereti,
2002). Furthermore, in the transition zone, tall fescue has
shown good wear tolerance and adaptability in intensively
   
because of its wide leaf blades (Shearman and Beard, 1975c).
However, the coarse leaf texture makes tall fescue less desir-
able than perennial ryegrass or kentucky bluegrass to most
athletic turf managers (Miele et al., 2002).
Numerous researchers have investigated the differences
       
Beard, 1975a; Carrow, 1980; Canaway, 1981; Carrow and
Petrovic, 1992; Minner and Valverde, 2005) and both tall
fescue and perennial ryegrass are known for their tolerance
 -
colino et al., 2004; Magni et al., 2004). Fushtey et al. (1983)
and Macolino et al. (2004) reported that perennial ryegrass
has better wear tolerance than kentucky bluegrass, whereas
for Canaway (1978) and Bourgoin and Mansat (1979) peren-
nial ryegrass and kentucky bluegrass had the same relative
compaction tolerance. Moreover, other authors (Minner and
Valverde, 2005) have demonstrated that kentucky bluegrass
has superior wear tolerance when compared to perennial
ryegrass and tall fescue.
The use of wear tolerant cultivars is essential to reduce
    
the cooler months of the year (Taivalmaa et al., 1998). Since
there is no ideal turfgrass suitable for the transition zone,
turf breeders have focused on improving varieties for tran-
     
(Minner and Valverde, 2005). The objective of this study
   -
ability of several cultivars of kentucky bluegrass, perennial
ryegrass, and tall fescue with a goal to help turf managers
in selecting species and cultivars for establishing athletics

Materials and methods
This study was conducted at the experimental agricultur-
al farm of Padova University in Legnaro, northeastern Italy
(45°20’N, 11°57’E, 8 m elevation) from March 2010 to Feb-
ruary 2012. The area has a humid subtropical climate with a
mean annual temperature of 12.3°C and rainfall of 820 mm
yr-1. Monthly mean air temperatures and precipitations are
reported in Figure 1. The soil was an Oxyaquic Eutrudept,
coarse-silty, mixed, mesic containing 66% silt, 18% sand, and
16% clay, with a pH of 8.1, 2.3% organic matter, a C/N ratio of
10.8, 38 mg kg-1 available Olsen P, and 178 mg kg-1 exchange-
able K (buffered BaCl2 method). Grasses were seeded on 10
April 2009 and included perennial ryegrass cultivars ‘Cre-
scendo’, ‘JPR 200’, ‘JPR 225’, ‘JPR 250’, ‘Kokomo’, ‘New arrival’,
‘Pavilion’, ‘Stravinsky’, and ‘Yorktown III’; kentucky bluegrass
cultivars ‘Brooklawn’, ‘Bonaire’, ‘Concerto’, ‘Nublue Plus’, ‘JKB
213’, ‘JKB 374’, ‘Julius’, ‘Larus’, and ‘Mystere’; and tall fescue
cultivars ‘Debussy I’, ‘Escalade’, ‘JTF 654’, ‘JTF 655’, ‘Justice’,
‘Lucky Selen’, and ‘Rhambler SRP’. These cultivars were cho-
sen on the basis of their current and/or future availability in
the Italian turfgrass market.
Cultivar commercial names and distributor are reported
in Table 1 and the majority of these cultivars have never been
-
ously used in cultivar comparisons in the northern Italy. The
seeding rates were 25 g m-2 pure live seed (PLS) for perennial
ryegrass, 40 g m-2 PLS for tall fescue, and 15 g m-2 PLS for
kentucky bluegrass.
Plots were mowed once a week during the growing sea-
son (March – November) with a walk-behind rotary mower
at an effective height of 58 mm and clippings were removed.
Before seeding, the soil was fertilized with a starter fertilizer
(8 N–10.4 P–20 K) at a rate of 50 kg ha-1 of N. A fertilizer (15
N–3.9 P–12.5 K), containing 5% of slow released N (isobutyl-
idenediurea) was applied in March, May, September and De-
cember at a rate of 62.5 kg ha-1 of N, for a total annual appli-
cation of 250 kg ha-1 of N. Irrigation was applied daily during

from June to August at a rate of 35 mm, using a sprinkler sys-
tem. Invading weeds were regularly hand removed during
the establishment and treatment periods. During the seeding
year, three applications of fungicide (Bumper p : Makhteshim
Chemical Works Ltd., a.i. prochloraz + propiconazole) were
made to control rust (Puccinia spp.) and dollar spot (Scle-
rotinia homoeocarpa) infections which occurred in some
      


Volume 81 | Issue 1 | February 2016 29
treatments were imposed from April 2010 and included a
      
was applied on fully established plots using a simulator de-
veloped by the University of Padova similar to the Brinkman


simulator weighed 350 kg and consisted of two studded roll-
ers with 170 soccer cleats (100 mm diameter and 170 mm
long) and an additional smooth roller. Lateral shear was pro-
duced by a different gearing causing an unequal speed of the
two rollers with cleats. Two passes with this simulator are
roughly equivalent to turf damage from one soccer game per
week (Zorzanello, 2003). Therefore, three passes were made

From March 2010, turfgrass quality was rated weekly us-
ing a visual scale from 1 to 9, where 1 represented dead turf,
9 optimum quality, and 5 minimal acceptable quality. Turf-
grass quality is a combination of several characteristics, in-
cluding density, color, uniformity and texture. Similarly, turf
density was visually assessed on a scale from 1 (bare soil) to
9 (very high density) where 5 represented acceptable den-
sity. Weekly turf ratings were averaged over three months to
be analysed as seasons: March, April and May (spring), June,
July and August (summer), September, October and Novem-
ber (autumn), and December, January and February (win-
ter). During the growing period, turfgrass canopy height was
measured before each mowing using a rising grass plate me-
ter (Sanderson et al., 2001; Rimi et al., 2013). Five randomly
selected measurements were taken within each plot (1.2 by
2.5 m). Daily vertical growth was calculated for spring, sum-
mer, and autumn as the sum of the vertical growth occurring
in the inter-mowing periods divided by the number of days
of each respective season.
The experimental design was a strip plot split block
with species as the whole plot ( 2.4 by 22.5 m for perennial
ryegrass and kentucky bluegrass, 2.4 by 17.5 m for tall fes-
cue) and cultivars within species as subplots (2.4 by 2.5 m),

12
FIGURE 1. Monthly mean air temperatures (lines) and monthly precipitations (bars) from April 2009 to April 2012
and long-term averages (1963–2007) at the agricultural experimental farm of Padova University, Legnaro,
northeastern Italy.
Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr
0
50
100
150
200
Precipitation (mm)
study period
1963-2007
Temperature (°C)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
study period
1963-2007
2009 2010 2011 2012
 Monthly mean air temperatures (lines) and monthly precipitations (bars) from April 2009 to April 2012 and long-
term averages (1963–2007) at the agricultural experimental farm of Padova University, Legnaro, northeastern Italy.
   Cultivars tested in the trial and their associated
distribution company.
Cultivar U.S.A. distributor
Lolium perenne
Crescendo Turf Merchants, Inc.
JPR200 J. R. Simplot Company
JPR225 J. R. Simplot Company
JPR250 J. R. Simplot Company
Kokomo DLF International Seeds
New arrival GLR Turf Merchants, Inc.
Pavilion Blue Moon Farms
Stravinsky DLF International Seeds
Yorktown III Loft’s seed, Inc.
Poa pratensis
Brooklawn Turf Merchants, Inc.
Bonaire Turf Merchants, Inc.
Concerto Turf Merchanwts, Inc.
NuBlue Plus J. R. Simplot Company
JKB213 J. R. Simplot Company
JKB374 J. R. Simplot Company
Julius DLF International Seeds
Larus Lantmännen SW Seed
Mystere Pro Seeds Marketing
Lolium arundinaceum
Debussy I DLF International Seeds
Escalade Oregro Seeds, Inc.
JTF654 J. R. Simplot Company
JTF655 J. R. Simplot Company
Justice Pennington Seeds
Lucky Selen Pennington Seeds
Rhambler SRP Turf Merchants, Inc.

30 European Journal of Horticultural Science

        
replicated three times in the study. Turf quality, density
and vertical growth were subjected to a repeated measures
analysis of variance (ANOVA) using a compound symmetry
covariance structure in SAS Proc Mixed (version 9.2; SAS In-
stitute, 2008). The different number of subplots within each
whole plot was taken in account by the ANOVA structure in
SAS Proc Mixed. The main effect of cultivar was partitioned
into terms corresponding to species and cultivars within spe-
     
-
ferences between means.
Results and discussion
 -
lected between years. Therefore, the data are presented for
each year individually. The analysis of variance revealed a

season for visual quality, density and vertical growth in both
      
       
within species and season were found for turf density and
for turf vertical growth respectively. These interactions are
examined and discussed below. To simplify the discussion,
results of three-way interactions between cultivars within
       -

but simply summarized in the text.
Turf quality and density
-



fescue showed better quality, reaching ratings higher than
6.0 compared with perennial ryegrass that never displayed
 
fescue and kentucky bluegrass occurred only in the winter,
when a drastic decrease of kentucky bluegrass quality was
observed. The overall turf quality for autumn and winter
      
of Fiorio et al. (2012), who also demonstrated that various
cultivars of tall fescue perform satisfactorily in northern

       
ratings (1 unit) than kentucky bluegrass in autumn and win-
ter (Figure 2b). As expected, perennial ryegrass performed
       
(Macolino et al., 2004). The lowest ratings for tall fescue (4.0)
 
the consequence of the low temperature hardiness of this
       -
tions, the quality of tall fescue was constant throughout
seasons in both years ranging from 5.7 to 7.1. These results
agree with Bremer et al. (2006) who found that ‘Dynasty’ tall
fescue had high visual quality across seasons in a transition
zone environment.
In the second year of the trial, tall fescue reached quality
ratings about 1 unit higher than perennial ryegrass in all sea-
-
 
similarly (Figures 2c and 2d), as found by Cereti et al. (2005)
in a study conducted in central Italy with different cultivars.
     
plots were observed in the second year compared with the
  

were constantly lower than 5.0; however no decline was ob-
     -

     
holes through the turfgrass canopy, while in the second one
soil compaction was progressively added to wear, reducing
the ability of the turf to recover (Puhalla, 1999).
      
season for turf density (Figure 3), the trends were similar
to what was observed for turfgrass quality (Figure 2), con-
 
parameters (P<0.001; r = 0.75, data not shown). Perennial
ryegrass often had lower density than tall fescue and ken-
tucky bluegrass, and these differences were most noticeable
in the summer (5.7, 7.2, and 7.0 for perennial ryegrass, tall
fescue and kentucky bluegrass respectively) and autumn
(5.6, 7.7, and 7.5 for perennial ryegrass, tall fescue and ken-
   

                   
interactions on turf visual quality, turf density and turfgrass vertical growth rate.
Effect Visual quality Density Vertical growth
2010–11 2011–12 2010–11 2011–12 2010–11 2011–12
Species (Sp) *** *** *** *** *** ***
Trafc (Tr) * ** ** ** ns *
Sp × Tr * ** *** *** * ***
Cultivar within species [Cv(Sp)] *** *** *** *** ** ***
Cv(Sp) × Tr ns *** ** *** ns ns
Season (Se) *** *** *** *** *** ***
Sp × Se *** *** *** *** *** ***
Cv(Sp) × Se *** *** *** *** *** ***
Tr × Se *** *** *** *** *** ***
Sp × Tr × Se *** *** *** *** *** ***
Cv(Sp) × Tr × Se ns * ns ns ns ns
*,**,***: Signicant at the 0.05, 0.01, and 0.001 probability level, respectively.
ns: Not signicant at the 0.05 probability level.

Volume 81 | Issue 1 | February 2016 31

13
FIGURE2. Effect of species × traffic × season on turf quality ratings of perennial ryegrass (Loliumperenne),
kentucky bluegrass (Poapratensis) and tall fescue (Loliumarundinaceum) recorded during 2010–11 (a and b:
April 2010 – February 2011) and 2011–12 (c and d: April 2011 – February 2012). Data were averaged over
cultivars; the error bar represents the least significant difference (P= 0.05) and can be used to determine
differences between traffic treatments, species and seasons.
-
son on turf quality ratings of perennial
ryegrass (Lolium perenne), kentucky
bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and tall fescue
(Lolium arundinaceum) recorded during
2010–11 (a and b: April 2010 – February
2011) and 2011–12 (c and d: April 2011
– February 2012). Data were averaged
over cultivars; the error bar represents
P= 0.05)
and can be used to determine differences
    
seasons.
.-
son on turf density ratings of perennial
ryegrass (Lolium perenne), kentucky
bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and tall fescue
(Lolium arundinaceum) recorded during
2010–11 (a and b: April 2010 – February
2011) and 2011–12 (c and d: April 2011
– February 2012). Data were averaged
over cultivars; the error bar represents
P= 0.05)
and can be used to determine differences
    
seasons.
14
FIGURE3. Effect of species × traffic × season on turf density ratings of perennial ryegrass (Loliumperenne),
kentucky bluegrass (Poapratensis) and tall fescue (Loliumarundinaceum) recorded during 2010–11 (a and b:
April 2010 – February 2011) and 2011–12 (c and d: April 2011 – February 2012). Data were averaged over
cultivars; the error bar represents the least significant difference (P= 0.05) and can be used to determine
differences between traffic treatments, species and seasons.

32 European Journal of Horticultural Science

all species achieved very low ratings, with values not exceed-

        
impact of density on the estimation of overall turf quality
(Macolino et al., 2004).
For both turf quality and density, the two-way interac-
tion between cultivars and season (Table 2) revealed high-
   
Perennial ryegrass cultivars showed a similar trend through
the year, while kentucky bluegrass cultivars displayed a dif-
ferent behaviour among seasons: ‘Nublue Plus’ and ‘JKB 374’
maintained an acceptable rating (>7.0) for both quality and
density during all seasons except winter, while other culti-
vars such as ‘Concerto’, ‘Julius’ and ‘Larus’ achieved high

cooler months (autumn and winter). Among tall fescue cul-
tivars, ‘Rhambler SRP’ had best performance, achieving the
highest ratings in spring and autumn, and maintaining good
turfgrass quality ratings throughout the winter.


-
ennial ryegrass cultivars (‘Pavillion’, ‘JPR 225’, ‘JPR 200’ and

the second year, all perennial ryegrass cultivars had low den-
  
     
conditions were observed for ‘Crescendo’, ‘Kokomo’, ‘Stravin-
Lolium perenne, a and b), kentucky bluegrass
(Poa pratensis, c and d) and tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum, e and f) recorded during 2010–11 (from April 2010 to February
2011) and 2011–12 (from April 2011 to February 2012). Data were averaged over seasons; the error bar represents the least
P
15
FIGURE4. Effect of cultivar × traffic on turf density ratings of perennial ryegrass (Loliumperenne, a and b),
kentucky bluegrass (Poapratensis, c and d) and tall fescue (L.arundinaceum, e and f ) recorded during 2010–11
(from April 2010 to February 2011) and 2011–12 (from April 2011 to February 2012). Data were averaged over
seasons; the error bar represents the least significant difference (P= 0.05) and can be used to determine
differences between traffic treatments and cultivars.

Volume 81 | Issue 1 | February 2016 33

sky’ and ‘Yorktown III’ (Figures 4a and 4b). Among kentucky
bluegrass cultivars, high density ratings were observed for

condition (Figures 4c and 4d). However, ‘Julius’ and ‘Larus’
exhibited a severe reduction of density in consequence of
  -

other kentucky bluegrass cultivars, with no differences be-
-


however, ‘Rhambler SRP’ showed a superior density than all

conditions (Figures 4e and 4f ). The enhanced performance
of ‘Rhambler SRP’ in northern Italy was also observed by
Macolino et al. (2014) in a study comparing four mixtures of
tall fescue and kentucky bluegrass under different mowing
heights.
Turfgrass vertical growth
      
showed higher vertical growth rates for tall fescue cultivars,
especially in spring and summer, compared to both kentucky
bluegrass and perennial ryegrass (Figure 5). These results
are in agreement with Beard (1973), who indicated tall fes-
cue as a well-adapted species for transitional zones even un-
-
ed in summer 2010 and in autumn of both years (i.e., <2.0
mm d-1). With the exception of these instances, the growth
rate of tall fescue was constantly higher than perennial
 -
served by Bremer et al. (2006) who compared ‘Dynasty’ tall
fescue and ‘Apollo’ kentucky bluegrass in Kansas. However,
in the autumn of the second year, there were no differences
        
was applied (Figure 5). This may be due to the low tempera-
tures occurred in November of the second year (Figure 1).
During this time period, there were 11 consecutive days with
mean air temperature lower than 5°C, which is considered
the minimum growth temperature for tall fescue (Ju et al.,
2006). In contrast, perennial ryegrass was not affected by
these weather conditions, achieving the same growth rate
as in summer, and this resulted in high visual quality ratings

 
more pronounced on tall fescue than for perennial ryegrass
(Figure 5).
      -
cal growth rate among perennial ryegrass cultivars occurred
only in spring (Table 3), with ‘Yorktown III’ reaching the
highest growth rate (3.1 vs 2.2–2.6 mm day-1). Interesting-
ly, this cultivar had the lowest ratings for both quality and
density in the trial, suggesting that growth rate is not corre-
lated to the overall performance. Among kentucky bluegrass
cultivars, ‘Bonaire’, ‘Concerto’ and ‘Mystere’ had the highest
growth rate in spring. Similarly to ‘Yorktown III’ perennial
ryegrass, those high-growth kentucky bluegrass cultivars
showed low quality and density ratings in spring. On the
contrary, ‘Nublue Plus’, ‘JKB 374’, ‘Julius’ and ‘Larus’, which
performed well for visual quality and density between sum-

lower than the others, especially in spring. ‘Rhambler SRP’
tall fescue, the cultivar performing better in both years of in-

year and maintained low rates in summer and autumn.
During the second year of investigation (Table 3), all
cultivars of perennial ryegrass displayed the same trend ob-

  -
est growth rates in spring was ‘Yorktown III’ (2.7 mm day-1 ).
As found by Park et al. (2010), who studied the response of
kentucky bluegrass to seasonal wear, differences among ken-
        
season on vertical growth rates of peren-
nial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), kentucky
bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and tall fescue
(Lolium arundinaceum) recorded during
2010–11 (a and b: April 2010 – February
2011) and 2011–12 (c and d: April 2011
– February 2012). Data were averaged
over cultivars; the error bar represents
P=0.05)
and can be used to determine differ-
    
cultivars.
16
FIGURE5. Effect of species × traffic × season on vertical growth rates of perennial ryegrass (Loliumperenne),
kentucky bluegrass (Poapratensis) and tall fescue (Loliumarundinaceum) recorded during 2010–11 (a and b:
April 2010 – February 2011) and 2011–12 (c and d: April 2011 – February 2012). Data were averaged over
cultivars; the error bar represents the least significant difference (P= 0.05) and can be used to determine
differences between traffic treatments and cultivars.

34 European Journal of Horticultural Science

tucky bluegrass cultivars occurred only in spring. ‘Mystere’
had the highest growth rate probably as the result of its high


year, a high vertical growth ranging from 1.5 mm d-1 in au-
tumn to 2.9 mm d-1 in spring. ‘Rhambler SRP’ maintained a
low vertical growth also in the second year, however this was

Turfgrass vertical growth was well correlated with both
turfgrass quality and turfgrass density (P< 0.001, r =0.39
and P< 0.001, r = 0.22 respectively; data not shown). These
results suggests that cultivars well adapted to local environ-
mental condition also displayed better quality and density.
Conclusion
-

combined effects of wear and soil compaction become sig-

for perennial ryegrass and tall fescue, known for their high
tolerance to soil compaction. However, kentucky bluegrass
showed a drastic decrease in growth rate in the second year,
likely due to the effects of wear injury on its shallow root sys-
tem.
         
related to a decline in turf density. A wide response to traf-

perennial ryegrass and tall fescue cultivars responded simi-
-
son to the other kentucky bluegrass cultivars tested. Among

and a high adaptation to the local environmental conditions.
Among perennial ryegrass cultivars, ‘Yorktown III’ was the

These results demonstrated that in the transition zone of
northeastern Italy proper cultivar selection is essential for
-
tucky bluegrass.
 Turfgrass vertical growth rates (mm d-1) of perennial ryegrass, kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue cultivars recorded


Cultivar 2010– 2011 2011– 2012
Spring Summer Autumn Spring Summer Autumn
Lolium perenne
Crescendo 2.2 z 0.9 z 0.8 z 1.9 y 1.0 y 0.8 y
JPR200 2.3 0.5 1.0 1.9 0.9 0.8
JPR225 2.2 0.7 0.9 1.8 0.8 0.8
JPR250 2.3 0.8 1.1 1.8 1.0 0.9
Kokomo 2.6 0.8 0.9 2.3 1.0 1.0
New arrival 2.2 0.6 0.7 1.8 0.8 0.7
Pavilion 2.3 0.5 0.9 1.9 0.9 0.8
Stravinsky 2.5 0.5 0.9 2.2 1.0 1.0
Yorktown III 3.1 0.7 0.8 2.7 1.2 0.9
Poa pratensis
Brooklawn 2.4 x 1.4 x 0.8 x 1.1 w 1.1 w 0.3 w
Bonaire 2.8 1.3 0.8 1.1 1.0 0.4
Concerto 2.7 1.3 0.8 1.3 1.1 0.4
NuBlue Plus 1.8 1.1 0.9 0.6 1.0 0.4
JKB213 2.0 1.1 0.9 0.7 1.1 0.4
JKB374 2.0 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.2 0.4
Julius 2.3 1.4 0.7 0.6 0.9 0.2
Larus 1.9 1.5 0.9 0.5 1.1 0.3
Mystere 2.8 1.2 1.0 1.8 1.0 0.4
Lolium arundinaceum
Debussy I 3.5 v 1.8 v 1.9 v 3.1 u 2.0 u 1.1 u
Escalade 3.6 1.7 1.6 2.7 1.9 1.1
JTF654 3.3 2.0 1.6 2.8 2.3 1.1
JTF655 3.6 2.0 1.7 3.1 2.3 1.2
Justice 3.6 1.8 1.6 2.9 2.0 0.9
Lucky Selen 3.6 1.9 1.8 2.9 2.3 1.2
Rhambler SRP 3.0 1.6 1.4 2.6 1.5 0.7
z Least signicant difference (α= 0.05) to compare Lolium perenne cultivars in 2010–11= 0.3.
y Least signicant difference (α= 0.05) to compare Lolium perenne cultivars in 2011–12= 0.2.
x Least signicant difference (α= 0.05) to compare Poa pratensis cultivars in 2010–11= 0.4.
w Least signicant difference (α= 0.05) to compare Poa pratensis cultivars in 2011–12= 0.3.
v Least signicant difference (α= 0.05) to compare Lolium arundinaceum cultivars in 2010–11= 0.4.
u Least signicant difference (α= 0.05) to compare Lolium arundinaceum cultivars in 2011–12= 0.4.

Volume 81 | Issue 1 | February 2016 35

Acknowledgments
-
nancial support to the research project.
References
Abraham, E.M., Huang, B., Bonos, S.A., and Meyer, W.A. (2004).
Evaluation of drought resistance for texas bluegrass, kentucky blue-
grass, and their hybrids. Crop Sci. 44, 1746–1753. http://dx.doi.
org/10.2135/cropsci2004.1746.
Beard, J.B. (1973). Turfgrass: Science and culture. (Englewood Cliffs
NJ: Prentice-Hall).
Bertrand, A., Castonguay, Y., Azaiez, A., and Dionne, J. (2013). Low-
temperature stress. In Turfgrass: Biology, Use and Management, J.C.
Stier, B.P. Horgan and S.A. Bonos, eds. (Madison, WI, USA: ASA, SSSA
and CSSA), pp. 279–303.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronmonogr56.c8.
Bourgoin, B., and Mansat, P. (1979). Persistence of turfgrass species
and cultivars. J. Sports Turf Res. Inst. 55, 121–140.
Brede, D. (2000). Turfgrass maintenance reduction handbook:
Sports, lawns, and golf (Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press).
Bremer, D.J., Su, K., Keeley, S.J., and Fry, J.D. (2006). Performance in
the transition zone of two hybrid bluegrasses compared with ken-
tucky bluegrass and tall fescue. Appl. Turfgrass Sci. 3(1).
Brosnan, J.T., Ebdon, J.S., and Dest, W.M. (2005). Characteristics in
diverse wear tolerant genotypes of Kentucky bluegrass. Crop Sci. 45,
1917–1926. http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2004.0511.
Canaway, P.M. (1978). Trials of turfgrass wear tolerance and associ-
ated factors – A summary of progress 1975–1977. J. Sports Turf Res.
Inst. 54, 7–14.
Canaway, P.M. (1981). Wear tolerance of turfgrass species. J. Sports
Turf Res. Inst. 57, 65–83.

species. Agron. J. 72, 1038–1042. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj
1980.00021962007200060041x.

In Turfgrass Agronomy Monograph 32, D.V. Waddington, R.N. Car-
row and R.C. Shearman, eds. (Madison, WI: ASA, CSSA, and SSSA),
pp. 285–330.
Cereti, C.F. (2002). Tappeti erbosi e inerbimenti. In Coltivazioni
erbacee foraggere e tappeti erbosi, R. Baldoni and L. Giardini, eds.
(Bologna, Italy: Patron Publishers), pp. 335–396.
Cereti, C.F., Rossini, F., and Nassetti, F. (2005). Wear tolerance char-
acterisation of 110 turfgrass varieties. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 10,
538–542.
Cockerham, S.T., Gibeault, V.A., Van Dam, J., and Leonard, M.K. (1990).
Tolerance of several cool- season turfgrasses to simulated sports
        
safety features. Schmidt, American Society for Testing and Materials.
STP 1073, 85–95.
Den Haan, J.W., Huang, B., Murphy, J.A., Bonos, S.A., DaCosta, M., and
Meyer, W.A. (2009). Morphological and anatomical variations among
perennial ryegrass cultivars exposed to wear stress. Int. Turfgrass
Soc. Res. J. 11, 779–787.
Dernoeden, P.H., Carroll, M.J., and Krouse, J.M. (1993). Weed manage-

herbicides. Crop Sci. 33(5), 1055–1061. http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/
cropsci1993.0011183X003300050036x.
Dest, W.M., Ebdon, J.S., and Guillard, K. (2009). Differentiating be-
   -
tion of turfgrass stress. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res. J. 11, 1067–1083.
Evans, G.E. (1988). Tolerance of selected bluegrass and fescue taxa to
6(1), 10–14.
Feldman, L.J. (1984). Regulation of root development. Annu. Rev.
Plant Physiol. 35, 223–242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.
pp.35.060184.001255.
Fiorio, S., Macolino, S., and Leinauer, B. (2012). Establishment and
performance of bluegrass species and tall fescue under reduced-in-
put maintenance in a temperate Mediterranean environment. Hort-
Technol. 22(6), 810–816.
Fry, J., Bremer, D., and Keeley, S. (2009). Establishment rates and lat-
eral spread of Festuca arundinacea cultivars. Int. Turfgrass Soc. Res.
J. 11, 481–487.
Fushtey, S.G., Taylor, D.K., and Fairey D. (1983). The effect of wear
stress on survival of turfgrass in pure stands and in mixtures. Canadian
J. Plant Sci. 63(1), 317–322. http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/cjps83-033.
Hoffman, L., Ebdon, J.S., Dest, W.M., and Da Costa, M. (2010). Ef-
fects of nitrogen and potassium on wear mechanisms in perennial
ryegrass: I. wear tolerance and recovery. Crop Sci. 50(1), 357–366.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2008.08.0473.
Ju, H.J., Hill, N.S., Abbott, T., and Ingram, K.T. (2006). Temperature
46(1), 404–
412. http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2005.0282.
Macolino, S., Pignata, G., Giolo, M., and Richardson, M.D. (2014). Spe-
cies succession and turf quality of tall fescue and kentucky bluegrass
mixtures as affected by mowing height. Crop Sci. 54(3), 1220–1226.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2013.10.0669.
Macolino S., Scotton, M., Lucon, M., and Ziliotto, U. (2004). Effect of

system of soccer pitches. Acta Hortic. 661, 375–379. http://dx.doi.
org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.661.51.
Macolino, S., Serena, M., Leinauer, B., and Ziliotto, U. (2010). Prelimi-
       -

grass cultivars. HortTechnology 20, 758–763.
Magni, S., Volterrani, M., and Miele, S. (2004). Soccer pitches perfor-
mances as affected by construction method, sand type and turfgrass
mixture. Acta Hortic. 661, 281–285. http://dx.doi.org/10.17660/
ActaHortic.2004.661.35.
Miele, S., Volterrani, M., Magni, S., and Gaetani, K. (2002). Winter
quality of tall fescue turf: Effects of renovation technique and nitro-
gen fertilization. Italian J. Agron. 6(2), 97–101.
Minner, D.D., and Valverde, F.J. (2005). Performance of established

J. 10, 393–397.
Park, B.S., Bokmeyer, J.M., Murphy, J.A., Bonos, S.A., and Meyer, W.A.
(2009). Evaluation of tall fescue under simulated wear. Int. Turf. Soc.
Res. J. 11, 563–572.
Park, B.S, Lawson, T.J., Samaranayake, H., and Murphy, J.A. (2010).
Tolerance and recovery of Kentucky bluegrass subjected to sea-
sonal wear. Crop Sci. 50, 1526–1536. http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/
cropsci2009.09.0479.
Porter Jr., H.L. (1958). Rhizomes in tall fescue. Agron. J. 50, 493–494.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj1958.00021962005000080027x.
Puhalla, J., Krans, J., and Goatley, M. (1999). Sports Fields: A manual
for design, construction and maintenance (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley &
Sons, Inc).
Rimi, F., Macolino, S., Richardson, M.D., Karcher, D.E., and Leinauer,
-
mudagrass and seashore paspalum: I. Spring green-up and fall color
retention. Crop Sci. 53, 1161–1167. http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/
cropsci2012.09.0562.

36 European Journal of Horticultural Science

Sanderson, M.A., Rotz, C.A., Fultz, S.W., and Rayburn, E.B. (2001).
Estimating forage mass with a commercial capacitance meter, ris-
ing plate meter, and pasture ruler. Agron. J. 93, 1281–1286. http://
dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj2001.1281.
Schery, R.W. (1965). This remarkable Kentucky bluegrass. Ann. Mo.
Bot. Gard. 52(3), 444–451. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2394808.
Shearman, R.C. (1988). Improving sports turf wear tolerance. Proc.
of the 58th Ann. Michigan Turf. Conf. 17, 153–155.
Shearman, R.C., and Beard, J.B. (1975a). Turfgrass wear mechanisms:
I. Wear tolerance of seven turfgrasses species and quantitative meth-
ods for determining turfgrass wear injury. Agron. J. 67, 208–211.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj1975.00021962006700020009x.
Shearman, R.C., and Beard, J.B. (1975b). Turfgrass wear tolerance
mechanisms. II. Effects of cell wall constituents on turfgrass wear
tolerance. Agron. J. 67, 211–215. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj
1975.00021962006700020010x.
Shearman, R.C., and Beard, J.B. (1975c). Turfgrass wear mechanisms:
III. Physiological, morphological, and anatomical characteristics as-
sociated with turfgrass wear tolerance. Agron. J. 67, 215–218. http://
dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj1975.00021962006700020011x.
Taivalmaa, S.L., Talvitie, H., Jauhuainen, L., and Niemeläinen, O.

Finland. J. Sports Turf. Res. Inst. 74, 52–62.
Trenholm, L.E., Carrow, R.N., and Duncan, R.R. (2000). Mechanisms
of wear tolerance in seashore paspalum and bermudagrass. Crop Sci.
40, 1350–1357. http://dx.doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2000.4051350x.
Unger, P.W., and Kaspar, T.C. (1994). Soil compaction and root growth:
a review. Agron. J. 86, 759–766. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj19
94.00021962008600050004x.
Zorzanello, D. (2003). Sistemi costruttivi e miscugli idonei alla cos-
tituzione di tappeti erbosi con funzioni ricreative e sportive (2000–
2003). Master’s Thesis, University of Padova.
Received: Jul. 3, 2015
Accepted: Nov. 17, 2015
Addresses of authors:
Cristina Pornaro1, Erica Barolo2, Filippo Rimi1,3,
Stefano Macolino1,* and Mike Richardson4
1 Department of Agronomy Food Natural Resources Animals
and Environment, University of Padova, Italy 35020
2 Agricultural Research Council (CRA SCS), Verona, Italy
3 Sakata Seed America, Inc., Morgan Hill, CA 95037, USA
4 Department of Horticulture, University of Arkansas,
Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
* Corresponding author; E-mail: stefano.macolino@unipd.it