RESEARCH INDICATES LESS IS MORE Water restrictions have been
prevalent in many areas of the United States in recent years.
While the arid West has always had to deal with drought, the
East was severely affected in 2002. Water bans had a damaging
effect on turf and landscape plants. What should you do if 2003
follows the same drought pattern? One approach is to develop a
water conservation strategy before drought conditions hit.
Irrigating deeper and less frequently is a recommendation that
goes a long way to benefit turfgrasses like tall fescue.
Research at the University of California, Riverside, underlines
the importance of deep, less-frequent irrigation in maintaining
tall fescue under water deficit. In a two-year field study in
Riverside, researchers evaluated the effects of water deficit
(80 percent ET During the first year, visual quality was
significantly higher for Jaguar III and the lower mowing height.
By the second year, when the turf was established, overall
visual turfgrass quality was highest fo