Turfgrass
Propagation
By Brian Quinn
Abstract
����������� Preparation for turfgrass installation has many different steps including: cleaning existing debris and vegetation, tilling, grading, irrigation, and soil modification.� These are necessary for the new turf to successfully establish itself.� There are two types of turf propagation; by seed and vegetatively.� Vegetative propagation methods include: sod, plugging, sprigging, and stolons.� Each method will produce similar results, but at different rates of time and price.
����������� Turfgrass has a very wide variety of plant multiplication techniques.� For grass propagation to establish, the soil must be prepared to the proper conditions.� Preparation includes: cleaning existing debris and vegetation, tilling, grading, irrigation, and soil modification.�� The most widely used method of propagation is seed production, but not all grass varieties produce a viable seed.� The other method of turfgrass propagation is vegetatively, which includes; sod, plugging, sprigging, and stolons.�
����������� Before a site can be seeded, it must be properly prepared for seed or plant installation.� The first step in site preparation is clearing the current vegetation and debris.� The main method of this is with a herbicide treatment such as glyphosate.� The next step is tillage of the soil.� Tillage will help with aeration, water retention, and allow for root penetration.� The third step is grading, which includes all methods of smoothing out the planting zone for the desired contour.� This is particularly important in golf course greens and tees.� The installation of drainage and irrigation goes along with the grading process.� Last is soil modification and fertilization if it is needed.
����������� There are hundreds of varieties of turfgrasses, each useful for different situations.� Most of these can be planted by seed.� When making a decision of what type of seed to use, you first need to know if you are in a warm season or cold season zone.� After that, you must know the exact use for the seed such as a residential lawn, golf course green, golf course rough, sports field, etc.� Each seed type has been selected specifically to stand up to the maintenance, disease, traffic, and pests in each situation.� Turf, is unlike most other plants in that it will reproduce itself and spread by way of stolons or rhizomes (underground roots producing nodes from which new plants can grow).
����������� The second type of grass propagation is by way of sod and vegetative parts.� Some types of grasses that don�t produce a seed and can only be propagated by these means include: St. Augistinegrass, Hybrid Burmudagrass, and Zoysiagrass.� Sod consists of full strips of turf that is raised, harvested, and sold by sod farms.� Sod is generally weed free and very uniform in terms of appearance and grass variety.� It is the most expensive type of propagation because the turf is already established.� Sod is mostly used for smaller areas or in emergency situations.
����������� Plugs are a major type of propagation used in the turf industry.� Plugs are �� or larger circular cuts from established turf.� These plugs are then inserted within 1-3� of each other and eventually grow together to form a solid surface.� This method is mostly used for filling in smaller areas in need of mature turf plants.� This method can be used for strong stoloniferous or rhizomatous growth varieties to fill in the gaps between plugs.� Plugging can be done manually or with a mechanical plugger.�
����������� Sprig and stolon propagation are essentially the same process.� It is the use of single plant sections with many growth nodes from which new plants develop.� Sod is raised, harvested, and shredded to produce the sprigs and stolons.� Sprigging is mostly used in warm season turfgrasses and is planted mechanically by a hand fed machine.� Each sprig should have about 2-4 growth nodes and planted in rows six inches apart.� Stolonizing is basically the same except the plants are broadcast across the intended area compared to planting in rows.� The area is then top dressed and irrigated.� It is important to keep sprigs and stolons irrigated as they have no soil attached to them to hold moisture.
����������� Seeding is by far the most used form of grass propagation followed by sod, plugging, sprigging, and stolons.� Seed is the cheapest, but takes the longest to establish.� Sod is the most expensive, but is almost instantly ready for use after it is installed.� Plugging, sprigging, and stolons vary greatly in price depending on the source and variety of grass needed.� Each takes about the same length of time to establish (less than seed, longer than sod).� All of these methods should produce the same end result with the same maintenance required for that end product.�
Literature Cited
A.J. Turgeon. �Turfgrass Management (5th Edition).�
D.E. Aldous.� International Turf
Management.�
Hartmann and Kester.� Plant Propagation (7th
Edtion).�