Water Use Characteristics of Golf Course Putting Green Turfgrass.

Water is the primary input for growth and survival of turfgrasses.  By weight, turfgrass plants contain approximately 80% water and show signs of water stress with a 10% to 15% decrease in water content.  Identifying cultivars with lower water requirements benefits both golf course superintendents and turfgrass breeding programs.  Therefore, the research objective of this greenhouse trial is to investigate water-use characteristics of new putting green genetics compared to standard warm-season putting green cultivars.  Turfgrass cultivars/species selected were Seadwarf seashore paspalum, Diamond zoysiagrass, and TifEagle and MSB-285 bermudagrasses. All cultivars were grown in a greenhouse at Mississippi State University. Three separate irrigation regimes and growing mediums were used to create well-watered, optimal, and deficient irrigation treatments.  This study will be initiated in May, 2016 and repeated in July, 2016.  Data collection included leaf firing, various rooting parameters, relative leaf water content, leaf electrolyte leakage, proline content, osmotic adjustment, and total shoot chlorophyll.