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Growth of Bella Bluegrass Compared to a Standard KBG Blend and Tall Fescue
Applied Turfgrass Science
  • Paul Johnson, Utah State University
  • Xin Dai
  • Roberrto Gurel
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2014
Disciplines
Abstract

A goal of low-input turfgrass is to reduce mowing, thereby reducing labor, fuel, and equipment expenses. A way to meet this goal is to develop grasses that grow slower. 'Bella' Kentucky bluegrass was released by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a slow-growing variety of bluegrass. This experiment documents slightly to significantly slower growth of 'Bella' compared to a traditional Kentucky bluegrass sod blend and tall fescue grown in the Intermountain West region of North America. Consumers frequently seek grasses that need less mowing and fertilizer (Busey and Parker, 1992). Although turfgrasses recover from traffic by growing, many uses don't need fast growth due to minimal traffic. With this in mind, 'Bella' Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) was released by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a slower growing variety compared to other bluegrasses (Shearman, 2010). This study was conducted to further test if Bella bluegrass grows slower than a standard blend of bluegrass and a tall fescue variety at two mowing heights and three fertilization rates in northern Utah.

Citation Information
Paul Johnson, Xin Dai and Roberrto Gurel. "Growth of Bella Bluegrass Compared to a Standard KBG Blend and Tall Fescue" Applied Turfgrass Science Vol. 11 Iss. 1 (2014)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/paul-johnson/27/