Sports Turf and Amenity Grasses

A Manual for Use and Identification

David E. Aldous, Ian H. Chivers

• Publisher: Landlinks Press
• Year: 2002
• ISBN:
  9780643099609
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Horticulture
• Index: Biological Sciences

Sports Turf and Amenity Grasses is a comprehensive reference for anyone involved with the selection and maintenance of grasses used in sports and amenity areas in all areas. It provides a means to identify these grasses through keys, descriptions and photographs, and also provides detailed information on sowing, oversowing, stolonising and mowing heights.

The performance of each grass is assessed and detailed comments made on positive and negative aspects of its use. A grass's tolerance to high temperature, frost, drought, shade, wet soil, salinity, low soil fertility, wear and close mowing is given in a table with each aspect rated. Further comments are made on how well it combines with particular grasses and on issues such as seedling vigour and sowing times.

Major

SPORTS TURF AND AMENITY GRASSES

The following grasses are widely sown or planted deliberately as the principal species in a turf or as an amenity grass cover. These species are described in detail and are illustrated with botanically accurate illustrations to allow for simple identification.

BOTANICAL NAME	Agrostis capillaris
COMMON NAME	Browntop bentgrass
OTHER NAMES	Colonial bentgrass
DESCRIPTION	Upright perennial, fine textured turf of high density; Colour usually mid-green to grey-green; Little creeping tendency, but can spread by rhizomes. Sometimes called Agrostis tenuis.
COMMON USES	Fairway oversowing, golf surrounds, greens, fine lawns, shaded lawns.
OTHER USES	Golf tees, golf aprons, bowls/croquet, erosion control.
POSITIVES	Prefers poor acid type soils; Very fine leaves and upright nature mean that this grass can be used for fine turf surfaces such as golf greens; Is difficult to divot when established; Can tolerate very low mowing.
NEGATIVES	Drought and heat tolerance poorer than for many other cool season species, but will regenerate in the following season in most cases; Thatching tendency if allowed to grow too tall; Only moderate wear tolerance; Some disease problems.
COMMENTS	Widely used in seed mixtures since it can fill gaps and improve the density of a turf...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• About the authors
• Preface
• Major sports turf and amenity grasses
• Minor sports turf and amenity grasses
• Further reading
• Turfgrass identification
• Key to common turfgrasses
• MAJOR SPORTS TURF AND AMENITY GRASSES
• MINOR SPORTS TURF AND AMENITY GRASSES
• Index