Turfgrass Recovery after an Induced Drought Period on a Golf Course Fairway: Case Study in Southern Spain

Abstract

The water management of golf courses is an issue of concern in drought-prone areas that demand irrigation strategies aimed at reducing turfgrass water consumption. Deficit irrigation and summer drought are water-saving strategies that are being assessed at a research level to cope with water shortages. In this work, the response of Cynodon dactylon (L.) var. Riviera to an induced period of severe summer drought of around 75 days and the subsequent recovery was assessed at a golf course in southern Spain. The green cover (GC) fraction and the main turf quality attributes were compared during two drought/recovery cycles to well-watered turfgrass. The results show that the deficit irrigation applied before the drought period decreased the quality of the turfgrass and led to fast turfgrass quality impairment during the drought interval, reaching the lowest quality level around 40 days after the beginning of the drought period. Once irrigation recovery started, GC and turf quality levels similar to those observed before the deficit irrigation period were reached after 30 days. Also, this water management strategy was effective for the control of weeds, especially Digitaria spp.