School of Plant Biology

This project aims to optimise nitrogen fertiliser and mat control management practices for Kikuyu turfgrass under Australian conditions.

Our understanding of turfgrass management practices and their effects on the environment is based mainly on data from cool-season turfgrasses grown in the Northern Hemisphere.

The project will:

• assess if optimising nitrogen fertiliser management maximises turfgrass quality while minimising nitrogen leaching and the accumulation of mat and thatch
• determine if mat and thatch accumulation affects turfgrass water-use
• compare non-destructive and destructive methods for controlling and managing the accumulation of mat and thatch in turfgrass.

The project is being conducted at our research facility at Shenton Park, WA.

Young and old turfgrass

Plots have been established from turfgrass of two ages:

• 20 weeks – newly grown sod, cut to a depth of 15mm.
• 20 years – cut from a golf course fairway to a depth of 50mm to include a mat layer.

Parameters measured in the experiment will be compared with those at industry sites.

Management techniques relevant to the turfgrass industry will be used at the experimental and the industry sites, so that information provided by the research can be utilised by end-users.