Search Results (22)

The increasing global reliance on water resources has necessitated improvements in turfgrass irrigation efficiency. This study aimed to compare measured field data with predicted data on irrigation water distribution in turfgrass rootzones to verify and enhance the accuracy of the HYDRUS-2D simulation model. Data were collected under controlled greenhouse conditions across unvegetated plots with two- and three-layered rootzone construction methods, each receiving 10 mm of water (intensity of 10 mm h⁻¹) via subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) or a sprinkler (SPR). The water content was monitored at various depths and time intervals. The hydraulic soil parameters required for the simulation model were determined through laboratory analysis. The HYDRUS-2D model was used for testing the sensitivity of various soil hydraulic parameters and subsequently for model calibration. Sensitivity analysis revealed that soil hydraulic property shape factor (n) was most sensitive, followed by factor θ_s^w (water content at saturation for the wetting water retention curve). The model calibration based on shape factors n and α_w either in Layer 1 for SPR variants or in both upper layers for SDI variants yielded the highest improvement in model efficiency values (NSEs). The calibrated models exhibited good overall performance, achieving NSEs up to 0.81 for the SDI variants and 0.75 for the SPR variants. The results of the irrigation management evaluation showed that, under SPR, dividing the irrigation amount of 10 mm into multiple smaller applications resulted in a higher soil storage of irrigation water (SOIL_S) and lower drainage flux (DFLU) compared to single large applications. Furthermore, the model data under the hybrid irrigation approach (HYBRID-IA) utilizing SPR and SDI indicated, after 48 h of observation, the following order in SOIL_S (mm of water storage in the topmost 50 cm of soil): HYBRID-IA3 (3.61 mm) > SDI-IA4 (2.53 mm) > SPR-IA3 (0.38 mm). HYDRUS-2D shows promise as an effective tool for optimizing irrigation management in turfgrass rootzones, although further refinement may be necessary for specific rootzone/irrigation combinations. This modeling approach has the potential to optimize irrigation management, improving water-use efficiency, sustainability, and ecosystem services in urban turfgrass management. Full article

The efficient use of water resources is a growing priority in multiple sectors, including the turfgrass industry. Nanobubbles (NB) represent an innovative technology that, by enriching solutions with various gases, offers significant benefits in several industrial areas. In crop irrigation, they have been shown to increase dissolved oxygen in the root zone and thereby boost yields. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the use of oxygen NB in irrigation water on turfgrass quality, considering different levels of water restriction (0%, 30%, and 50% of daily crop evapotranspiration), compared to conventional irrigation. During the summer of 2024, trials were conducted using turf quality indices based on multispectral reflectance and RGB digital image analysis. The results showed that the use of NB allowed for a reduction in irrigation by 50% without compromising turf quality, reaching values similar to treatments without water restriction. In contrast, treatment with the same restriction but without NB (WNB50%) showed a deterioration in quality. This study shows NB as an innovative tool to optimize water use, with great potential for applications in landscape green areas, promote water use efficiency, and reduce the costs associated with irrigation. Full article

The quality of sports facilities, especially football pitches, has gained significant attention due to the growing importance of sports globally. This study examines the effect of two different cutting systems, a traditional ride-on mower and an autonomous mower, on the quality and functional parameters of a municipal football field. The analysis includes visual assessments, measurements of grass height, and evaluations of surface hardness, comparing the performance of the two cutting systems. Additionally, studies of turfgrass composition and machine learning techniques, particularly with YOLOv8s and YOLOv8n, are conducted to test the capability of assessing weed and turfgrass species distribution. The results indicate significant differences in grass color based on the position (5.36 in the corners and 3.69 in the central area) and surface hardness between areas managed with a traditional ride-on mower (15.25 Gmax) and an autonomous mower (10.15 Gmax) in the central region. Higher height values are recorded in the area managed with the ride-on mower (2.94 cm) than with the autonomous mower (2.61 cm). Weed presence varies significantly between the two cutting systems, with the autonomous mower demonstrating higher weed coverage in the corners (17.5%). Higher overall performance metrics were obtained through YOLOv8s. This study underscores the importance of innovative management practices and monitoring techniques in optimizing the quality and playability of a football field while minimizing environmental impact and management efforts. Full article

Drones are being used for agriculture monitoring in many different crops. Nevertheless, the use of drones for green areas’ evaluation is limited, and information is scattered. In this survey, we focus on the collection and evaluation of existing experiences of using drones for turfgrass monitoring. Despite a large number of initial search results, after filtering the information, very few papers have been found that report the use of drones in green areas. Several aspects of drone use, the monitored areas, and the additional ground-based devices for information monitoring are compared and evaluated. The data obtained are first analysed in a general way and then divided into three groups of papers according to their application: irrigation, fertilisation, and others. The main results of this paper indicate that despite the diversity of drones on the market, most of the researchers are using the same drone. Two options for using cameras in order to obtain infrared information were identified. Moreover, differences in the way that drones are used for monitoring turfgrass depending on the aspect of the area being monitored have been identified. Finally, we have indicated the current gaps in order to provide a comprehensive view of the existing situation and elucidate future trends of drone use in turfgrass management. Full article

Irrigation practices that conserve water use have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but may adversely affect turfgrass appearance. The purpose of this study was to identify irrigation practices and N fertilizers that will decrease carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH_4,), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions while evaluating turfgrass color and quality. In both years, supplemental rainfall (SRF) soil moisture content was higher than business as usual (BAU) irrigation and syringing (SYR). Higher soil moisture led to increased fluxes in both soil CO₂ and soil N₂O. In 2017, the SRF fluxed lower soil CO₂ as soil moisture reached levels that restricted respiration. Soil moisture was also an important predictor of soil N₂O flux with BAU and SRF having higher soil N₂O fluxes. SRF produced the greenest turf from May to July, whereas SRY and SRF produced the greenest turf from August to October in 2016. Both BAU and SRF had the greenest turf in 2017. BAU had the highest turfgrass quality ratings in 2016 followed by SRF and SRY, respectively, whereas in 2017 SRF and SRY had higher turfgrass quality ratings. When adopting water conservation practices to reduce GHG emissions, soil moisture content and site-specific rainfall should be closely monitored to prevent overwatering. Full article

Turfgrass systems hold significant climate change mitigation value, but their management often negates the beneficial effects due to the intense adoption of external inputs. The research objective in this paper was to assess the nitrogen fertilization rate able to maintain the ideal esthetic characteristics of Zoysia turfgrass, reducing the environmental impacts associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A two-year open field experiment was conducted. Nitrogen was added to the soil at six rates (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 kg ha⁻¹). The GHG emissions were monitored using a portable gas analyzer and the static chamber methodology. Cumulative environmental impacts were calculated from the inclusion of CO₂, CH₄, and, N₂O using the Global Warming Potential (GWP). The quality assessment of the turf was assessed through a visual and instrumental approach. Higher CO₂ and N₂O fluxes were linked to high nitrogen rates, ranging from 83.55 to 87.50 and from 0.046 to 0.047 g N-N₂O ha⁻¹ day⁻¹ for 200 and 250 kg N ha⁻¹, respectively. CH₄ emissions were not correlated to nitrogen rates. Higher GWP impacts were linked to high N rate treatments. A rate of 100 kg N ha⁻¹ is recommended as the best strategy to reduce GHG emissions while maintaining high turf quality. Full article

Monitoring the dynamics of the spore bank of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is essential for the sustainable management and protection of agroecosystems. The most common method for extracting AMF spores from soil is the wet-sieving technique (WST). However, this method has many disadvantages. In this study, we modified the WST using new approaches: the ultrasound wet-sieving technique (UWST) and the ultrasound centrifuge technique (UCT). We enumerated and compared the numbers and quality of spores obtained from WST, UWST, and UCT to validate the new modified techniques. We extracted AMF spores from the rhizospheres of different plants, including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), pepper (Piper nigrum L.), parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.), and turfgrass (Lolium perenne L.) collected from the Van Lake basin, Turkey. The highest and lowest AMF spore numbers were observed in wheat and turfgrass rhizospheres. The UCT allowed for the extraction of the highest number of spores from all rhizospheres, followed by the UWST and WST. The UWST and WST allowed for the extraction of similar spore numbers from wheat, pepper, parsley, and turfgrass rhizospheres. Beyond the high extracted spore number, UCT was shown to be a fast and low-material-consuming approach. These findings demonstrate that the UCT can be used to efficiently extract AMF spores in future research. Full article

Robotic solutions and technological advances for turf management demonstrated excellent results in terms of quality, energy, and time consumption. Two battery-powered autonomous mowers (2 WD and 4 WD) with random patterns were evaluated according to different trampling levels (control, low, medium, high) on a typical warm season turfgrass at the DAFE, University of Pisa, Italy. Data on the percentage of area mowed, the distance traveled, the number of passages, and the number of intersections were collected through RTK devices and processed by a custom-built software (1.8.0.0). The main quality parameters of the turfgrass were also analyzed by visual and instrumental assessments. Soil penetration resistance was measured through a digital penetrometer. The efficiency significantly decreased as the trampling level increased (from 0.29 to 0.11). The over-trampled areas were mainly detected by the edges (on average for the medium level: 18 passages for the edges vs. 14 in the central area). The trampling activity caused a reduction in turf height (from about 2.2 cm to about 1.5 cm). The energy consumption was low and varied from 0.0047 to 0.048 kWh per cutting session. Results from this trial demonstrated suitable quality for a residential turf of the Mediterranean area (NDVI values from 0.5 to 0.6), despite the over-trampling activity. Soil penetration data were low due to the reduced weight of the machines, but slightly higher for the 4 WD model (at 5 cm of depth, about 802 kPa vs. 670 kPa). Full article

The irrigation of extensive green roofs with recycled or saline water could contribute to the conservation of valuable drinking water supplies. In such cases, the continuous monitoring of substrate electrical conductivity (EC_sw) is of immense importance for the sustainable growth of the plants growing on the green roof. The present study aimed to estimate the EC_sw (pore water EC) of an extensive green roof substrate in lysimeters with the use of the WET-2 dielectric sensor. Half of the 48 lysimeters that simulated extensive green roofs had a substrate depth of 7.5 cm, while the other half had a 15 cm substrate depth. The warm season turfgrass Paspalum vaginatum ‘Platinum TE’ was established at the lysimeters, and during the summer period, it was irrigated every two days at a rate of 14 mm with NaCl solutions of various electrical conductivities (EC_i): (a) 3 dS m⁻¹, (b) 6 dS m⁻¹, and (c) 12 dS m⁻¹, while potable water of 0.3 dS m⁻¹ EC_i served as the control. The relation between bulk electrical conductivity, σ_b, and bulk dielectric permittivity, ε_b, of the substrate was observed to be linear for all EC_i levels up to σ_b values of 2–2.5 dS m⁻¹. The EC_sw was predicted by employing the salinity index method which was modified to be applied to the particular case of a green roof substrate. Knowing the salinity index and organic portion (%, v/v) for a given green roof substrate, we could calculate the EC_sw. It was found that the use of the salinity index method predicts reliably the EC_sw up to 10–11 dS m⁻¹, while the method overestimates EC_sw at very low levels of electrical conductivity. Full article

The annual bluegrass weevil (ABW), Listronotus maculicollis (Kirby), a significant pest of short-mown turfgrass in eastern North America, has developed widespread insecticide resistance because of excessive synthetic insecticide use. The proper monitoring of this pest may reduce insecticide applications in time and space. This study evaluated three sampling methods (soap flushing, vacuuming, and mowing) in golf course greens and fairways for monitoring adult ABW. Soap flushing was the most efficient method, especially with an 0.8% solution in two portions of 500 mL, extracting over 75% of the adults, and the extraction efficiency was not affected by the temperature or time of day. Vacuuming was more effective for recovering adult ABWs on greens (4–29% extracted) than on fairways (2–4%) but was not affected by the time of day. The extraction of adult ABWs in mower clippings was significantly affected by mowing height (higher recovery from greens versus fairways), and the efficiency decreased with the temperature. Adding a brush to the mower increased adult removal (from 15% to 24%) in greens at higher temperatures (18–25 °C); 70% of adults recovered in the clippings were unharmed. Overall, our findings suggest that soap flushing should be the preferred method for monitoring adult ABWs, and vacuuming might be a viable alternative for greens. Full article

Turfgrass in equine sports has clear advantages over other types of reinforcement but adds complexity to the management. This study investigates factors that influence the turfgrass’ surface performance and how the use of a drainage package and a geotextile reinforcement affect quantitative measurements of turfgrass. The measurements are made using affordable, lightweight testing tools that are readily available or easily constructed. Eight boxes with turfgrass over a mix of the arena with peat at a consistent depth were tested for volumetric moisture content (VMC %) with time–domain reflectometry (TDR), the rotational peak shear device (RPS), the impact test device (ITD), soil cone penetrometer (SCP), and the Going Stick (GS). Results obtained using TDR, RPS, ITD, SCP, and GS indicate that the presence of the geotextile and drainage package was mainly detected by VMC (%), SCP detected geotextile addition, and GS detected the interaction of geotextile × drainage package. Linear regression showed SCP and GS are related to geotextile and was positively correlated between them and negatively with VMC (%). The testing showed some limitations of these devices, mainly related to moisture content and sod composition, but the potential exists to utilize these devices for quality control as well as for the monitoring of maintenance of the surfaces when controlling the range of both VMC (%) and sod constitution. Full article

Sustainably using resources, while reducing the use of chemicals, is of major importance in agriculture, including turfgrass monitoring. Today, crop monitoring often uses camera-based drone sensing, offering an accurate evaluation but typically requiring a technical operator. To enable autonomous and continuous monitoring, we propose a novel five-channel multispectral camera design suitable for integrating it inside lighting fixtures and enabling the sensing of a multitude of vegetation indices by covering visible, near-infrared and thermal wavelength bands. To limit the number of cameras, and in contrast to the drone-sensing systems that show a small field of view, a novel wide-field-of-view imaging design is proposed, featuring a field of view exceeding 164°. This paper presents the development of the five-channel wide-field-of-view imaging design, starting from the optimization of the design parameters and moving toward a demonstrator setup and optical characterization. All imaging channels show an excellent image quality, indicated by an MTF exceeding 0.5 at a spatial frequency of 72 lp/mm for the visible and near-infrared imaging designs and 27 lp/mm for the thermal channel. Consequently, we believe our novel five-channel imaging design paves the way toward autonomous crop monitoring while optimizing resource usage. Full article

This study compared the performances of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) to sprinkler irrigation (SI) of cool-season turf mix (CS) and warm-season (WS) turfgrass species while investigating their response to different irrigation scheduling strategies. Moreover, the suitability of crop water stress index (CWSI) for monitoring water stress and scheduling irrigation was tested. Irrigation was applied up to the field capacity when 30%, 50% and 70% of total available water was consumed. All parameters, including color, quality, fresh yield, dry matter yield, irrigation water productivity, water productivity, vegetation height and mowing, differed significantly for different irrigation methods and water supply strategies for both species. The best visual turf was maintained under non-limiting soil moisture conditions (30%) in all main and sub-treatments. At this irrigation threshold, maximum and minimum amounts of irrigation water were applied in SI CS treatment (523.5 mm) and SDI WS treatment (298.6 mm), respectively. Warm-season turf required up to 40% less water than cool-season turf mix. In the water-scarce regions, 50% treatment for cool-season and 70% treatment for warm-season can be suggested for acceptable visual quality, lower water consumption and less frequent clipping. The mean CWSI before irrigation, representing irrigation threshold, ranged between 0.22–0.70. Full article

Water is considered the most important natural resource utilized on managed amenity grasslands, and water conservation is an integral part of an overall program in environmental stewardship and best management practices. Measuring and monitoring the soil water content of turfgrass root zones has become an important and routinely accepted practice of golf courses and sports pitches. In recent years, portable hand-held soil moisture meters or sensors have become commercially available and affordable, and therefore have become a valuable and often relied-upon tool for the turfgrass industry practitioner. To maximize or optimize the time and resources needed to measure the root zone volumetric water content of a turf site, a field experiment was conducted to determine the minimum number of soil moisture readings needed per 93 m² of a sand-based root zone. Of note, 93 m² is equivalent to 1000 ft², which is the common form of area measurement utilized by the turfgrass industry in the USA. The standard error of the mean calculated from sampling data revealed that three to four measurements per 93 m² were the minimum number required. Soil moisture meters should be utilized in a structured, purposeful, and site-specific manner along with traditional soil moisture evaluation methods of diligent scouting for visual signs of turfgrass wilt and drought stress, as well as examining soil root zone cores, to support prudent irrigation water management practices. Knowledge of the soil moisture status will support best practices for water conservation and environmental stewardship while optimizing turfgrass quality, function, and performance. Full article

Billbugs (Sphenophorus spp.) are a complex of grass-feeding weevil species that reduce the aesthetic and functional qualities of turfgrass. Effective billbug monitoring and management programs rely on a clear understanding of their seasonal biology. However, our limited understanding of regional variation in the species compositions and seasonal biology of billbugs, stemming primarily from our inability to identify the damaging larval stage to species level, has hindered efforts to articulate efficient IPM strategies to growers. We used a combination of DNA barcoding methods and morphometric measures to begin filling critical gaps in our understanding of the seasonal biology of the billbug species complex across a broad geographic range. First, we developed a DNA barcoding reference library using cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences from morphologically identified adult billbugs collected across Indiana, Missouri, Utah and Arizona. Next, we used our reference library for comparison and identification of unknown larval specimens collected across the growing season in Utah and Indiana. Finally, we combined our DNA barcoding approach with larval head capsule diameter, a proxy for developmental instar, to develop larval phenology charts. Adult COI sequences varied among billbug species, but variation was not influenced by geography, indicating that this locus alone was useful for resolving larval species identity. Overlaid with head capsule diameter data from specimens collected across the growing season, a better visualization of billbug species composition and seasonal biology emerged. This approach will provide researchers with the tools necessary to fill critical gaps in our understanding of billbug biology and facilitate the development of turfgrass pest management programs. Full article