Te entries in this low input trial, with no annual
grass or broadleaf weed control, need excellent establishment, and then good ground cover to resist weed invasion and deliver good quality. With many different species, mixtures with clovers and even non-grasses (western yarrow), turfgrass quality ratings are more difficult to assess, sometimes leading to less significance among entries. And considering the trial length, entry performance in a low input trial was expected to decline over time. With five years of data and the trial complete, a
five-year summary is now available. With various mixtures of species, including clovers, it is difficult to identify any single species, blend, or mixture that provided superior performance under the low input regime. Obviously, establishment rate was important in the first year as each entry competed with weeds for cover. Terefore, entries with a significant percentage of tall fescue or fine fescue such as DLFPS TFAStC,DLFPS TFAM,Vitality Low, CS Mix, and CRS Mix #3 performed well in year one. Year two (2017) finished with mixtures with high percentages of either tall fescue or hard fescue as top performers in many locations. Te exception to that was at West Lafayette, IN, St. Paul, MN, and Logan, UT, where Yaak western yarrow was very good. Data from 2018 was similar to 2017 as tall fescue
or hard fescue dominant mixes were very good, along with Yaak in cooler, less humid sites in the Midwest or Pacific Northwest. In addition, in 2018,DLFPS TF AStC, a 97 percent tall fescue, 3 percent strawberry clover mixture performed well. 2019 delivered similar results except for ratings being so low in sites such as Kennett Square, PA, and Lincoln, NE, that no entry reached the acceptable quality level threshold. Te final year of data, 2020 saw mixtures
containing the 3 percent of less aggressive clovers (Microclover®
or strawberry clover) with some of the most
consistent performance, either mixed with improved tall fescue cultivars (DLFPS TFAM or DLFPS TFAStC), or chewings and strong creeping red fescue (DLFPS ChCrM). Possibly, the clovers’ nitrogen-fixing ability added density and survivability to the turf stands. Te tall fescue blend DLFPS TF-A and hard fescueMNHD-15 were also consistently good in 2020, along with Vitality Double, a 90 percent tall fescue/10 percent Kentucky bluegrass mixture, and Vitality Low Maintenance Mixture.
Yaak, the western yarrow entry that is interesting as
it is not a grass, nor a legume, was initially a good performer, but has declined the last three years.Yaak was still a top entry at Logan, UT, and performed reasonably well at Mead, NE, West Lafayette, IN, St. Paul, MN, and Raleigh, NC. Yaak's performance at Blacksburg, VA, and Corvallis, OR, has declined since 2019.Yaak’s performance may have suffered from the fact that it is a ‘non-traditional’ lawn species and therefore its appearance is quite different from grasses, which may hurt its quality ratings. Terefore,Yaak
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may still have a place as a lawn species or ground cover where low maintenance and native plants are requested. Percent living ground cover ratings, averaged over
the five years by season showed interestingly,Yaak with the highest spring and summer cover percentage, tied with Southern Mixture (70 percent tall fescue, 10 percent Kentucky bluegrass, 10 percent perennial ryegrass, and 10 percent chewings fescue) in spring ratings and just above Ky-31 E+ tall fescue in summer ratings. Fall ground cover ratings had several tall fescue mixtures, led by DLFPS- TFAM at the top. Ground cover under low input is an important factor in weed suppression and overall quality. Percent weed cover ratings in the different seasons also reflected those high ground cover ratings as several tall fescue dominated mixtures also contained the lowest weed percentages. Overall, the five-year trial yielded some interesting
results, both consistent with past research and in some cases, surprising and promising. For instance, two mixtures with small percentages of clover,DLFPS TFAStC (97 percent tall fescue, 3 percent strawberry clover) and DLFPS TFAM (97 percent tall fescue, 3 percent Microclover®
) finished in the top 25 percent of turfgrass
quality ratings at 75 and 50 percent of all locations, respectively. It is presumed that the nitrogen-fixing capability of the clover provides much needed nutrients to the turf. Not surprisingly, tall fescue entries such as Vitality Double, a 90/10 tall fescue/Kentucky bluegrass mixture performed well overall (finished in top 25 percent of entries in 58.3 percent of all locations), along with Bullseye tall fescue, a standard entry in the trial (top 25 percent of all entries at 50 percent of all locations). And a hard fescue, Chewings fescue mixture,Vitality Low also finished in the top 25 percent of all entries at 50 percent of all locations.
Tis expanse of cool-season grasses creates a welcoming public recreation area in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
TPI Turf News July/August 2025
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