Performance of Annual and Perennial Ryegrass Mixtures for Winter Overseeding into Three Warm-Season Turf Species

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) is commonly overseeded into warm-season turfgrasses during the fall to create a temporary, actively growing green cover. Excessive persistence of perennial ryegrass cultivars can increase management inputs and prolong the spring transitional period. A 2-yr field study was conducted to investigate the effects of three ryegrass overseeding treatments on winter turf performance and spring transition rate for three warm-season turfgrasses maintained at a golf fairway height. Treatments included improved turf-type annual (Lolium multiflorum Lam. ‘Panterra’) and perennial ryegrasses (‘Premier II’ and ‘Peak’) sown into ‘Tifway’ hybrid bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. ´ C. transvaalensis Burtt Davy], ‘Cavalier’ zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp. Willd.), or ‘Sea Isle 1’ seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Sw.). Visual assessments of turf quality were performed throughout the spring and early summer. Warm-season and cool-season plant density was assessed by measuring shoot counts, aboveground dry weight, and light entering the canopy each May and July. Annual ryegrass alone or within a perennial ryegrass mixture provided acceptable winter turf quality and hastened spring transition but did not consistently improve warm-season turf recovery over perennial ryegrass alone in bermudagrass or seashore paspalum. Overseeding zoysiagrass resulted in unacceptable turf quality during the summer, regardless of overseeding treatment. In general, warm-season turfgrass overseeding potential, as defined by spring transition and summer recovery, was ranked as follows: seashore paspalum > bermudagrass > zoysiagrass.