Evaluation of drought resistance and turf quality in some selected Tall fescue collected from different places of IRAN

Document Type : Full Paper

Authors

1 Assitant Professor, Faculty of agriculture, Department of Horticulture Science, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Agriculture Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), IranProfessor

4 Professor, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

 
In order to identify low maintenance turfgrass, turf quality of selected entries of germination stage under drought stress were evaluated by Digital Image Analysis methods in the field conditions. The first greenhouse study examined the interaction of four different levels of soil water contents (40, 60, 80 % and 100% field capacity) on 14 Festuca arundinacea entries. We determined the effects of low soil moisture (80%, 60% and 40 % field capacity) on the emergence and early establishment using 14 wild F. arundinacea populations collected from various regions of Iran and two commercial turf cultivars. Based on results, the highest final emergence (100%) was exhibited by Isfahan accession, at 40% FC, but it was 6.7% in Quchan accession. Finally, in the last experiment, turfgrass quality and coverage in selected entry of second experiment were evaluated in the field for one year. Gonabad entry showed very good turfgrass coverage at first evaluation after mowing. However, Isfahan accession showed the best turfgrass coverage in the end of experiment. Cultivar Barvado showed the highest turf colour index. These results suggest that collected entries from Iran specifically Isfahan and Brojen entries could be used for plant breeding programs and improvement of low maintenance turfgrass in Iran.

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