Low-Input, Alternative Turfgrass Species As a Pest Management Strategy.

It is increasingly important for turfgrass professionals to reduce resource inputs and limit negative environmental impacts of management practices.  Regional studies have identified alternative species that provide an acceptable turf stand under fewer resource inputs than required by traditional turfgrass species.  Yet, the use of alternative species as an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy has not been fully investigated.  The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the turf quality and pest resistance of alternative grass species in Minnesota under low-input management.  Three to four cultivars or selections each of colonial bentgrass (Agrostis capillaris L.), hard fescue ((Festuca trachyphylla [Hack.] Krujina), tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa [L.] P. Beauv.), and prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha [Ledeb.] Shult.), were selected for evaluation using results from previous regional trials.  The experiment was established at two locations in Minnesota.  After establishment plots received no irrigation or pesticide applications.  Cultivars and selections were evaluated at three different mowing heights (3.2, 5.7, and 8.3 cm) and three fertilizer rates (0, 4.9, and 9.8 g N m^-2 per year).  Turf quality, disease severity, percent weed cover, and percent live turfgrass cover data were recorded over the two year period.  Hard fescue cultivars provided the best turf quality and disease resistance across years, mowing heights, and fertilizer treatments.  Colonial bentgrass cultivars provided the best competition against weed encroachment, but they were the most affected by disease.  Prairie junegrass selections, with the exception of the cultivar, 'Barkoel', and the tufted hairgrass cultivars had poor turf quality.  Regarding prairie junegrass, poor quality was largely due to inadequate establishment.  While, rust disease and summer stress reduced the quality of tufted hairgrass. Overall, the results indicate that alternative, low-input grasses, specifically hard fescue, could be utilized as an IPM strategy in Minnesota.  Further germplasm improvement and utilization of low-input, alternative grasses could help reduce resource and pesticide inputs in the urban landscape.