Publication Date

Spring 2021

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Dr. William Strunk (Director), Dr. Todd Willian, Dr. Paul Woosley

Degree Program

Department of Agriculture and Food Science

Degree Type

Master of Science

Abstract

The transition zone in the United States is a difficult area to grow and establish turfgrasses. To establish or repair damaged turfgrass areas, seed priming is an often-used practice. Turfgrass companies and researchers are expanding the practice of solid matrix priming to the practice of one step planting. These products contain seed, fertilizers, and often some type of inert matter and/or mulch. This study took place in Bowling Green, KY and Knoxville, TN during the same period to investigate the effects of using these one step planting products compared to standard cool season turfgrass seeding practices. Two Pennington and two Scotts products were chosen to compare to a standard seeding control. This study followed a randomized complete block design and used analysis of variance to analyze the effects of location, days after seeding, and treatment variation. Pennington One Step outperformed all other products in terms of turf cover (> 90% at both locations after 28 days), followed by the tall fescue control and Scotts PatchMaster. Pennington One Step, however, does not give a turfgrass manager the most value based on a cost analysis conducted ($4.60 per m2). Based upon this research, Pennington One Step is best suited to repair small, damaged areas of turfgrass. Standard seeding practice of tall fescue would be recommended for larger turfgrass areas because of the economic value it provides in cost per m2 ($0.31) and seeds per dollar of product (71,856 per $).

Disciplines

Agriculture | Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Horticulture | Plant Sciences

Additional Files
Duncan, Ben permission.pdf (42 kB)
Download

Additional files available below

Share

COinS