Hot Foam and Nitrogen Application to Promote Spring Transition of “Diamond” Zoysiagrass (<i>Zoysia matrella</i> (L.) Merr.) Overseeded with Perennial Ryegrass (<i>Lolium perenne</i> L.)
Lisa Caturegli,
Mino Sportelli,
Michel Pirchio,
Giuliano Sciusco,
Marco Volterrani,
Matteo Tucci,
Simone Magni,
Alberto Minelli,
Marco Fontanelli,
Christian Frasconi,
Michele Raffaelli,
Andrea Peruzzi
Affiliations
Lisa Caturegli
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Mino Sportelli
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Michel Pirchio
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Giuliano Sciusco
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Marco Volterrani
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Matteo Tucci
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Simone Magni
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Alberto Minelli
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin, 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Marco Fontanelli
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Christian Frasconi
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Michele Raffaelli
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Andrea Peruzzi
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
In transition areas, cool season turfgrasses are overseeded in autumn to maintain the high quality of dormant warm season turfgrasses, while in spring several agronomic methods (scalping, coring, topdressing, verticutting, irrigation, and targeted fertilization) or chemical desiccation are adopted to remove the cool season turfgrasses from the stand. To reduce chemical applications, several methods of “thermal weeding” have been experimented with, but little is known about these methods in zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp. Willd) spring transition. A study was conducted at the University of Pisa, Italy, on Manila grass (Zoysia matrella (L.) Merr., cv “Diamond”) (Zm) overseeded with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) (Lp) with the aim of comparing different methods of cool season grass suppression (scalping and hot foam) and different application rates of nitrogen. To assess treatment effect, green cover, turf quality, turf color, shoot density, and some vegetation indices (GLI, DGCI and NDVI) were determined. An average green cover of at least 90% was obtained on all plots seven weeks after the treatments. While scalping had minor effects on turf appearance and on polystand composition, hot foam had a stronger effect on turf color, green cover, and turf quality in the weeks following application. Once it had recovered from the hot foam treatments, the turf had a greater number of Zm shoots and a relevant reduction of Lp shoots. The hot foam was very effective in suppressing Lp while maintaining Zm recovery capacity.
