Te NTEP Trials provide sod producers with valuable information on the performance of specific cultivars to make the best selections to serve their customers in their markets, from homeowners to professional sports fields. Tis ground-level view shows the playing field of MLB’s Washington Nationals.
across the U.S., from the humid, eastern U.S. with 30+ inches (762+ mm) of annual rainfall but with occasional prolonged drought periods, to the arid western U.S. where annual summer drought periods are expected. Te warm-season version of this trial was
established at ten locations in the summer of 2018. Te cool-season version of this trial was established in the fall of 2016 or spring of 2017 at ten total sites, five under rain exclusion shelters in the eastern U.S. (Approach 1) and five in western U.S. field sites (Approach 2). Te cool-season version includes fifteen Kentucky bluegrasses, nineteen tall fescues, and one perennial ryegrass (as a control entry). Te first data from the cool-season trial was
collected in 2017 at six of the ten locations. Four Approach 1 (shelter) locations collected data during a 100-day induced drought period, and in some cases, large differences were noted in the amount of water used by entries, however very small statistical differences were noted among entries. For 2018, we changed the re- watering procedure threshold to 65 percent green cover, as well as expanded our statistical analysis for all sites to include separate Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue tables. In 2018, all Approach 1 locations noted large differences in water needed to maintain 65 percent green cover. Four locations that were unable to collect three
years of data by 2019, concluded their data collection in 2020. Te Fayetteville, AR, site’s (Approach 1) seasonal
TPI Turf News July/August 2024
water needed ranged from 34.0 mm (1.34 in.) to 80.7 mm (3.18 in.) in 2020. No statistical differences were noted among water needed when comparing all Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue entries. However, there was some statistical significance among tall fescues when compared only to other tall fescue entries. Nonet (38 mm [1.47 in.]), MRSL TF15 (47 mm [1.85 in.]), BarRobusto (51 mm [2.01 in.]), Stetson II (51 mm [2.01 in.]), and Titanium 2 LS (51 mm [2.01 in.]) used the least water of the tall fescue group. Various factors resulted in limited data collection
in 2019 at the Amherst, MA, site (Approach 1), therefore they collected 2020 data using two distinct dry-down ‘seasons.’ Te first dry-down season of 2020 showed excellent entry differences under the rainout shelter with NAI-13-14 and PST-K11-118 Kentucky bluegrass requiring the least water to maintain green cover (8.7 mm [0.34 in.]). Other bluegrasses such as Everest, Babe, Midnight, and NAI-13-132 also finished in the top statistical group, surprisingly ahead of every tall fescue entry. Te second dry-down season delivered very similar water use numbers, but with much less statistical significance. NAI-13-14, PST-K11-118, Babe, and Everest needed the least water again in ‘Season 2’ but with several tall fescues performing equally well. Two sites, Logan, UT, and Fort Collins, CO,
collected 2020 data under the Approach 2 regime. In 2018 and 2019, no Kentucky bluegrass season average reached the
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