Like all modern agriculture sectors, turfgrass productionand management is headed towards cost reduction, resourceoptimization and reduction of the environmentalimpact. In recent years the development of newtechnologies has provided new tools for monitoringagricultural crops. In particular, the combined adoptionof geographic information systems, global positioningsystems, multispectral lenses on board satellitesand cartographic techniques allow a large scalemanagement of agricultural resources. This paper reportsthe results of a trial attempting to evaluate thespectral signatures of several turfgrass species\cultivars,for future use in satellite monitoring. This experimentalstudy focused on 20 turfgrass species\cultivars,including perennial ryegrasses, tall fescues, kentuckybluegrasses, bermudagrasses (ecotypes, seededand vegetatively propagated cultivars) and zoysiagrasses.Various agronomical and biological parameterswere studied (quality, colour, dry matter, chlorophyll,carotenoids, nitrogen content) and turfgrass spectralreflectance for all entries was gathered. Results showedthat, within the same species, selected vegetation indicesare often able to discriminate between differentcultivars that have been established and maintainedwith identical agronomical practices. Evaluation ofthe spectral reflectance of plants using field spectroradiometryprovides the possibility to identify differentspecies\ cultivars, especially through the use of hyperspectralproximity and remote sensing
