Performances of some warm-season turfgrasses under Mediterranean conditions

No Abstrac

Intercropping of corn with cowpea and bean: Biomass yield and silage quality

An experiment was carried out at the Bornova experimental fields of Field Crops Department of Agriculture Faculty., Ege Univ., Turkey during 2004-2005 growing season in order to determine biomass yield and silage quality of corn (Zea mays indendata) mixed with legumes such as various cowpea (Vigna ungiuculata) and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cultivars monocropped or intercropped in same or alternate-rows. Results indicated that intercropping system affected many characteristics such as plant height, fresh biomass and dry matter (DM) yield, pH level and crude protein (CP) content and yield of silage material. Intercropped corn withlegumes were far more effective than monocrop corn to produce higher DM yield and roughage for silage with better quality. Practicing alternate-row sowings and benefiting from climbing types of legumes as componentcrop had better performances than same-row sowings and dwarf type legume

Performances of different cool season turf grasses and some mixtures under mediterranean environmental condition

In the present study, turf color, cover, weed invasion and quality traits of different turf alternatives pure sowings of Lolium perenne, Festuca arundinacea, F. rubra spp. trichophylla, F. rubra spp. commutata and different types of mixtures (mixture 1: 75% F. arundinacea + 25% L. perenne; mixture 2: 50% L. perenne + 50% F. ovina; mixture 3: 50% L. perenne + 25% F. rubra spp. commutata + 25% F. rubra spp. trichophylla & mixture 4: 40% L. perenne + 25% F. rubra spp. commutata + 25% F. rubra spp. trichophylla + 10% Poa pratensis) were tested in acidic soils under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Results indicated the outstanding performances of F. arundinacea and partially L. perenne, which displayed quite high scores of color, cover, weed invasion and quality. F. rubra spp. commutata and spp. trichophylla had very limited scores of tested traits under summer heat and drought stress conditions of experimental area. The mixture including L. perenne and F. arundinacea had also satisfactory performance, with the exception of mixtures containing F. rubra subspecies, F. ovina and P. pratensis. © 2011 Friends Science Publishers

Performances of some cool season turfgrass cultivars in mediterranean environment: II. Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Festuca ovina L., Festuca rubra spp. rubra L., Festuca rubra spp. trichophylla Gaud and Festuca rubra spp. commutata Gaud

The commitment to turf research is more recent and is challenged by the diversity of climatic conditions occurring in Anatolian peninsula of Turkey. These differences in climatic factors and environmental variation may determine the specific adaptation of species to certain areas and complicate the species and cultivar recommendations. In this present study, aiming to evaluate the adaptability and quality of newly introduced cultivars of different cool season turfgrass species in a Mediterranean environment in western Turkey, Bornova-Izmir, four cultivars of Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb), Sheep fescue (Festuca ovina L), Festuca rubra L. spp. trichophlylla Gaud (Slender creeping red fescue) and Festuca rubra spp. rubra commutata Gaud (Chewings red fescue) and six cultivars of Festuca rubra spp. rubra L. (Creeping red fescue) were tested for 3 years (2003-2005) in a replicated experimental block group design. Turf cover, colour and quality traits of these cool season turfgrass cultivars were evaluated by using a visual score (1-9) and the target of the generated information was the support turfgrass specialist in turfgrass cultivars selection and recommendations and research institutions for their breeding programs. Results indicated that tall fescue cultivars were the only genotypes maintaining high scores of cover, colour and quality in different seasons and years. Sheep fescue cultivars were also consistent throughout the experimental years, although their colour, cover and quality scores were not high. We also suggested that all red fescue sub-species were not fully adaptable to Mediterranean conditions and their usage had to be limited in turf mixtures

Seed yield of Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum L.) as affected by row distance and herbicide applications

The experiment on the effects of row distances and herbicide applications on the seed yield and some characteristics of Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum L.) was conducted in 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 growing seasons in Bornova, Izmir, Turkey. The experimental design was split-plots design with three replications. Row distances were 20, 30 and 40 cm and the herbicides were imazethapyr, imazamox and bentazone. Imazethapyr is not a suitable herbicide for weed control in Persian clover. Bentazone must be used for broad-leaved weeds such as Anagallis caerula, Matricaria chamomilla, Polygonum aviculare, Sinapis arvensis and Stellaria media. It had an effect on Fumaria parviflora in second year, only. In case of presence of wild oat (Avena sterilis) and some broad-leaved weeds such as Sinapis arvensis, Anagallis caerula, Polygonum aviculare and Stellaria media, it is thought that imazamox is useful to achieve a satisfactory seed yield. The row distance had an effect on the number of lateral branches per plant and 1000 seed weight. Herbicide applications affected the number of lateral branches per plant, the number of heads per plant and seed yield. The highest seed yields were obtained from the control, imazamox and bentazone applications and the yields were 799, 733 and 712 kg ha-1, respectively. Although there were no statistical important differences among the row distances, more seed yield (752 kg ha-1) was obtained from the row distance of 40 cm. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information