Adaptability and Character Traits of Turf-type Tall Fescue Cultivars Grown under Limited Irrigation in Northern Italy
The use of tall fescue is increasing in the European transition zone because of its inherent tolerance to heat and drought stresses. Climate change, as expressed by more frequent drought occurrences, presents a challenge for selecting appropriate turfgrass cultivars. A field study was conducted at t...
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American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)
2024-12-01
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| author | Alberto Novello Cristina Pornaro Michael Fidanza Stefano Macolino |
| author_facet | Alberto Novello Cristina Pornaro Michael Fidanza Stefano Macolino |
| author_sort | Alberto Novello |
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| description | The use of tall fescue is increasing in the European transition zone because of its inherent tolerance to heat and drought stresses. Climate change, as expressed by more frequent drought occurrences, presents a challenge for selecting appropriate turfgrass cultivars. A field study was conducted at the Experimental Agricultural Farm of the University of Padova (Legnaro, Italy) to assess the response of 20 tall fescue cultivars grown without irrigation for 2 years (with a single emergency irrigation application in Jul 2022). The cultivars were evaluated every 2 weeks from Mar 2021 to Mar 2023 to determine the texture, uniformity, density, color, quality, green turf cover, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The cultivars tested were Bullseye, Darlington II, Detonate LS, Forlaine, Grande II, Lexington, Melya-ne, PPG-TF238, PPG-TF254, PPG-TF315, PPG-TF336, RGT Nuance, Rhambler SRP, Talladega II, Thor, Thunderstruck, Tough, Triad, Turfway, and ZRC-1. The results confirmed the ability of tall fescue species to tolerate drought stress as imposed within the parameters of this field study. For all cultivars, a slight decrease in quality was observed only in the summer of the second year under severe drought conditions. The inherent low cold tolerance of tall fescue compared with that of other cool-season species observed for all the study cultivars resulted in lower quality, color, and uniformity during the winter, but density was maintained throughout the entire study period. The best-performing cultivars based on quality, NDVI, and green turf cover were PPG-TF336, Triad, and ZRC-1. Therefore, tall fescue provides a sustainable solution for amenity turfgrass lawns in water deficit climates, and turf-type tall fescue cultivars with the desired characteristics of optimum quality and drought tolerance should be considered for lawns with the European transition zone. |
| format | Article |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) |
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| spelling | doaj-art-69e8643a660a4fa697aa6f9c7ba1681e2025-08-20T02:33:51ZengAmerican Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)HortTechnology1943-77142024-12-01351https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH05512-24Adaptability and Character Traits of Turf-type Tall Fescue Cultivars Grown under Limited Irrigation in Northern ItalyAlberto Novello0Cristina Pornaro1Michael Fidanza2Stefano Macolino3Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, University of GeorgiaDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment, University of Padova, 35020 LegnaroDivision of Science, Berks Campus, Pennsylvania State UniversityDepartment of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals, and Environment, University of Padova, 35020 LegnaroThe use of tall fescue is increasing in the European transition zone because of its inherent tolerance to heat and drought stresses. Climate change, as expressed by more frequent drought occurrences, presents a challenge for selecting appropriate turfgrass cultivars. A field study was conducted at the Experimental Agricultural Farm of the University of Padova (Legnaro, Italy) to assess the response of 20 tall fescue cultivars grown without irrigation for 2 years (with a single emergency irrigation application in Jul 2022). The cultivars were evaluated every 2 weeks from Mar 2021 to Mar 2023 to determine the texture, uniformity, density, color, quality, green turf cover, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The cultivars tested were Bullseye, Darlington II, Detonate LS, Forlaine, Grande II, Lexington, Melya-ne, PPG-TF238, PPG-TF254, PPG-TF315, PPG-TF336, RGT Nuance, Rhambler SRP, Talladega II, Thor, Thunderstruck, Tough, Triad, Turfway, and ZRC-1. The results confirmed the ability of tall fescue species to tolerate drought stress as imposed within the parameters of this field study. For all cultivars, a slight decrease in quality was observed only in the summer of the second year under severe drought conditions. The inherent low cold tolerance of tall fescue compared with that of other cool-season species observed for all the study cultivars resulted in lower quality, color, and uniformity during the winter, but density was maintained throughout the entire study period. The best-performing cultivars based on quality, NDVI, and green turf cover were PPG-TF336, Triad, and ZRC-1. Therefore, tall fescue provides a sustainable solution for amenity turfgrass lawns in water deficit climates, and turf-type tall fescue cultivars with the desired characteristics of optimum quality and drought tolerance should be considered for lawns with the European transition zone.https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/35/1/article-p5.xmldrought stressgreen turf coversoil moistureturf quality |
| spellingShingle | Alberto Novello Cristina Pornaro Michael Fidanza Stefano Macolino Adaptability and Character Traits of Turf-type Tall Fescue Cultivars Grown under Limited Irrigation in Northern Italy HortTechnology drought stress green turf cover soil moisture turf quality |
| title | Adaptability and Character Traits of Turf-type Tall Fescue Cultivars Grown under Limited Irrigation in Northern Italy |
| title_full | Adaptability and Character Traits of Turf-type Tall Fescue Cultivars Grown under Limited Irrigation in Northern Italy |
| title_fullStr | Adaptability and Character Traits of Turf-type Tall Fescue Cultivars Grown under Limited Irrigation in Northern Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adaptability and Character Traits of Turf-type Tall Fescue Cultivars Grown under Limited Irrigation in Northern Italy |
| title_short | Adaptability and Character Traits of Turf-type Tall Fescue Cultivars Grown under Limited Irrigation in Northern Italy |
| title_sort | adaptability and character traits of turf type tall fescue cultivars grown under limited irrigation in northern italy |
| topic | drought stress green turf cover soil moisture turf quality |
| url | https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/35/1/article-p5.xml |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT albertonovello adaptabilityandcharactertraitsofturftypetallfescuecultivarsgrownunderlimitedirrigationinnorthernitaly AT cristinapornaro adaptabilityandcharactertraitsofturftypetallfescuecultivarsgrownunderlimitedirrigationinnorthernitaly AT michaelfidanza adaptabilityandcharactertraitsofturftypetallfescuecultivarsgrownunderlimitedirrigationinnorthernitaly AT stefanomacolino adaptabilityandcharactertraitsofturftypetallfescuecultivarsgrownunderlimitedirrigationinnorthernitaly |