Comparison of Mechanical Cultivation Methods to Improve Lolium Perenne Overseeding Performance.

Overseeding bermudagrass is an essential part of many football fields in the transition zone. Cultivation techniques are frequently used to improve the performance of overseeding bermudagrass. A study was conducted at the University of Tennessee Center for Athletic Field Safety (Knoxville, TN) and at the University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY) to compare mechanical cultivation methods to improve Lolium perenne overseeding performance in the fall of 2015. The study utilized a randomized complete block with four replications at two locations. Plots were subjected to one of five cultivation treatments: brushed, vertical mowing, fraze mowing at 6.4 mm, 12.7 mm and 25.4 mm depths. All plots (1.2 m x 2.4 m) were on ‘Riviera’ bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. var. dactylon]) and received the same overseeding application at 16.8 kg ha^-1. Green turfgrass cover (GTC), germination, and surface hardness were collected in the fall for eight weeks following overseeding application. Recovery of GTC was tracked after overseeding was chemically transitioned in the spring. In the fall, non- fraze mown plots regained 90% GTC 1 week faster than all fraze mown treatments. By week three all plots had no significant differences in GTC and were above 90%. Germination and surface hardness values were highest for 25.4 mm fraze mown plots across all treatments. In the spring, no differences were detected among plots for GTC, but surface hardness was significant. The 25.4 mm depth fraze mown treatment had the hardest surface across all dates. Fraze mowing is a technique that can be used to effectively overseed bermudagrass; however, these findings did not indicate that fraze mowing was better than traditional cultivation techniques for overseeding.