Turfgrass Recovery after an Induced Drought Period on a Golf Course Fairway: Case Study in Southern Spain
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 145, Issue 6
Abstract
The water management of golf courses is an issue of concern in drought-prone areas that demand irrigation strategies aimed at reducing turfgrass water consumption. Deficit irrigation and summer drought are water-saving strategies that are being assessed at a research level to cope with water shortages. In this work, the response of Cynodon dactylon (L.) var. Riviera to an induced period of severe summer drought of around 75 days and the subsequent recovery was assessed at a golf course in southern Spain. The green cover (GC) fraction and the main turf quality attributes were compared during two drought/recovery cycles to well-watered turfgrass. The results show that the deficit irrigation applied before the drought period decreased the quality of the turfgrass and led to fast turfgrass quality impairment during the drought interval, reaching the lowest quality level around 40 days after the beginning of the drought period. Once irrigation recovery started, GC and turf quality levels similar to those observed before the deficit irrigation period were reached after 30 days. Also, this water management strategy was effective for the control of weeds, especially Digitaria spp.
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Acknowledgments
This work was part of the research project PRJ201602875 “Performance assessment and recovery of different grass species after a period of water shortage” financed by the Spanish Association of Greenkeepers and the Royal Golf Federation of Andalusia which we are grateful to. We also want to thank the personnel of the Hato Verde Golf Course, especially Mr. Darío J. Caparros Aragón, for the data provided and their support. Finally, our gratitude to Antonio Amaro Ampliato and José A. García Mora who helped in the field data acquisition.
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Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 145 • Issue 6 • June 2019
Copyright
©2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 31, 2018
Accepted: Jan 10, 2019
Published online: Apr 12, 2019
Published in print: Jun 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Sep 12, 2019
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