Life Sciences Commons^™

Influence Of Prestress Environment On Annual Bluegrass Heat Tolerance, Dennis L. Martin, David J. Wehner

Office of the Dean (CAFES) Scholarship

Annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) turf quality is reduced during periods of high temperature. To predict heat stress injury and develop improved prestress maintenance practices, an understanding of the seasonal variation in annual bluegrass heat tolerance and the influence of soil moisture on heat tolerance is crucial. Annual bluegrass growing in the field on a Drummer silty clay loam (fine silty, mixed, mesic Typic Haplaquolls) was sampled on 23 dates over two growing seasons and brought to a laboratory for exposure to high temperature. Prestress environmental conditions (air and soil temperature, soil matric potential, plant water potential, daylength, rainfall and …

Heat Tolerance Of Kentucky Bluegrasses, Perennial Ryegrasses, And Annual Bluegrass, David J. Wehner, T. L. Watschke

Office of the Dean (CAFES) Scholarship

Use of cool-season turfgrasses in transitional environments is limited, in part, by their heat tolerance. Development of a rapid heat tolerance screening technique would be of value in determining the potential of turf•grasses for use in warmer areas.

The heat tolerance of 22 Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) cultivars, Poa annua L., and four perennial ryegrass cultivars (Lolium perenne L.) was evaluated by exposing plants for 30 min to temperatures ranging from 41 to 49 C in single degree intervals. Ten-week-old plants, which had been grown under a low level of N fertilization and watered infrequently to maximize …