Search

Copyright of Agronomy Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Weed suppression has been observed in the fine fescues, a group of low‐input turfgrasses. Of the fine fescues, Chewings fescue (Festuca rubra L. ssp. commutata Gaudin; CH) and strong creeping red fescue (F. rubra L. ssp. rubra Gaudin; ST) displayed the strongest weed suppression ability in previous research while hard fescue (F. brevipila Tracey; HF) did not appear to have the same level of suppression. However, most of this research occurred more than 10 years ago and did not lead to improved cultivars. There is a need for confirmation of these results using diverse germplasm that may have genetic variability for weed suppression; this information would be useful for turfgrass breeding efforts. Our objective was to screen for weed suppression abilities in 19 fine fescue accessions originally collected in Europe, at two distinct field locations, St. Paul, MN and West Lafayette, IN, infested with smooth crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Schreb. ex Muhl.). Our results confirmed previous reports that the F. rubra taxa are more crabgrass suppressive than HF. Chewings fescue and slender creeping red fescue [F. rubra L. ssp. littoralis (G. Mey.) Auquier; SL] displayed the strongest ability to suppress smooth crabgrass. Results also indicated that there is large variability between the entries within each taxon, including within HF. Slender creeping red fescues were relatively more weed suppressive than previously shown, and this taxon needs further attention. Results suggest further opportunities for plant breeders to develop new weed suppressive cultivars for low‐input turfgrass systems. Core Ideas: Festuca rubra taxa are more crabgrass suppressive than F. ovina.There is large variability in weed suppression across entries within each fine fescue taxon.Opportunities exist for plant breeders to develop new weed suppressive cultivars.Future studies should aim to separate allelopathic effects from plant competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]