Kentucky Bluegrass Establishment Under Saline, Waterlogging, and Saline-Waterlogging Conditions

Abstract

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) (KBG) is commonly used for golf fairways, however, it is sensitive to salinity and waterlogging. The objectives of this research were to determine (1) KBG growth response to saline, waterlogging, and saline-waterlogging conditions and (2) efficacy of seed priming in stress enhancement. Nine KBG cultivars were subjected to the aforementioned stresses at the seedling stage for four weeks. The combined saline-waterlogging caused more severe damage than individual stress. ‘Sudden Impact’, ‘Award’, ‘Limousine’, and ‘Kenblue’ were relatively tolerant to the stresses based on results from tissue biomass, root length, and specific root length stresses, while ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Blue Note’ were relatively sensitive. Seeds primed with abscisic acid, glycinebetaine, polyethylene glycol, and water performed better or similar to the non-primed grasses. Use of relatively tolerant cultivars, alone or in combination with priming, may be a better management practice when establishing a turfgrass stand under stress.