Studies on the growth of Korea Lawn Grass (Zoysia japonica Steud.)in Reponse to Nitrogen Application, Clipping Treatment and Plant Density

질소시용, 예초 및 재식밀도가 한국잔디(Zoysia Japonica Steud)의 생육에 미치는 영향

The increasing emphasis placed on the production of fine turf for lawns, golf courses, parks, and other recreational sites has led to many unsolved problems as to how such turf could be best established and mainteined. For this purpose, a series of experiments were conducted under con ditions of pot and field. The results obtained were as follows EXPERIMENT I. The effect of nitrogen fertilizer and clipping interval on Zoysia japonica. 1. Increasing the rate of nitrogen and frequent clipping increased tiller number of Zoysis japonica and the maximum number of tillers were obtained from 700 kg N application and freqnent clippings (10 days interval ) in October. Treatment of 350kg N with 10 days clipping interval increased tillers much more than those of 700 kgN with 20 and 30 days clipping intervals. 2. The average number of green leaves occurred during the growth period maximized by applying 700 kg N and clipping 10 days interval. 3. Increasing tiller numbers significantly decreased tops DM weight per tiller by clipping plants at interval of 10 and 20 days, irrespective of nitrogen applied, and with nil N, at the interval of 30 days. By applying 700 kg N, however, top DM weight per tiller increased as the number of tillers increased consistently. 4. The highest top DM weight was achieved from late August to early September by applying 350 and 700kgN. 5. During the growth period, differences in unders ( stolon + root ) DM weight occurred bynitrogen application were found between nil N and two applied nitrogen levels, whereas, at the same level of nitrogen applied, the increase in stolon DM weight enhanced by lengthening the clipping interval to 30 days. 6. Nitrogen efficiency to green leaves, stolon nodes and DM weight of root with high nitrogen was achieved as clipping interval was shortened. 7. By increasing fertilizer nitrogen rate applied, N content n the leaves and stems of Zoysiajaponica was increased. On the other hand, N content in root and stolon had little effect onfertilizer nitrogen, resulting in the lowest content among plant fractions. The largest content of N was recorded in leaves. Lengthening the clipping interval from 10 or 20 to 30 days tends to decrease the N content in the leaves and stems, whereas this trend did not appeared in stolon androot. 8. A positive correlations between N and K contents in tops and stolon were established andthus K content increased as N content in tops and stolon increased. Meanwhile, P content was not affected by N and clipping treatments. 9. Total soluble carbohydrate content in Zoysia japonica was largest in stolon and stem, and was reduced by increasing fertilizer nitrogen rate. Reduction in total soluble carbohydrate due to increased nitrogen rate was severer in the stolons and stems than in the leaves. 10. Increasing the rate of nitrogen applied increased the number of small and large vascular bundles in leaf blade, but shortened distance among the large vascular bundles. Shortening the clipping interval resulted in increase of the number of large vascular bundles but decrease ofdistance between large vascular bundles.EXPERIMENT II. Growth response of Zoysia japonica imposed by different plant densities. 1. Tiller numbers per unit area increased as plant density heightened. Differences in num ber between densities at higher densities than 120 D were of no significance. 2. Tiller numbers per clone attained by 110 days after transplanting were 126 at 40D,77 at 80D, 67 at 120D, 54 at 160D, and 41 at 200D. A decreasing trend of tiller numbers per clone with increasing density was noticable from 100 days after transplanting onwards. 3. During the growth period, the greatest number of green leaves per unit area were attainedin 90days after transplanting at 160D and 200D, and 100 days after transplanting at 40D, 80Dand 120D. Thus the period to reach the maximum green leaf number with the high plantdensity was likely to be earlier that with the low plant density. 4. Stolon growth up to 80 days after transplaning was relatively slow, but from 80 daysonwards, the growth quickened to range from 1.9 m/clone at 40D to 0.6m/clone at 200Din 200 days after transplanting, these followed by the stolon node produced. 5. Plant density did not affect stolon weight/clone and root weight/clone until 80 daysafter transplanting. 6. DM weight of root was heavier in the early period of growth than that of stolon, butthis trend was reversed in the late period of growth : DM weight of stolon was much higherthan that of root.EXPERIMENT Ill. Vegetative growth of Zoysia japonica and Zoysia matrella as affected by nitrogen and clipping height. 1. When no nitrogen was applied to Zoysia japonica, leaf blade which appeared during theAugust-early September period remained green for a perid of about 10 weeks and even leavesemerged in rate September lived for 42 days. However, leaf longevity did not exceed 8 weeks asnitrogen was applied. In contrast the leaf longevity of Zoysia matrella which emerged during the mid August-earlySeptember period was 11 weeks and, under the nitrogen applied, 9 weeks, indicating that thelife-spen of individual leaf of Zoysia matrella may be longer than that of Zoysia japorica. Clipping height had no effect on the leaf longevity in both grasses. 2. During the July-August period, tiller number, green leaf number and DM weightof Zoysia japonica were increased significantly with fertilizer nitrogen, but were not with twolevel of clipping height. This trend was reversed after late September ; no effect of nitrogen wasappeared. Instead, lax clipping increased tiller number, green leaf number and DM weight. Greenleaves stimulated by lax clipping resulted in the occurrance of more dead leaves in late October. 3. Among the stolons outgrown until early September, the primary stolon was not influencedby nitrogen and clipping treatments to produce only 2-3 stolons. However, 1st branch stoIon asaffected by nitrogen increased significantly, so most of stolons which occurred consisted of 1st branch stolons. 4. Until early September, stolon length obtained at nil nitrogen level was chiefly caused bythe primary stolons. By applying nitrogen, the primary stolons of Zoysia japonica waslonger than 1st branch stolons when severe clipping was involved and in turn, shorter than 1stbranch stolons when lax clipping was concerned. In Zoysia matrella, 1st branch stolons were muchlonger than the primary stolon when turf was clipped severely but in conditions of lax clippingthere was little difference in length between primary and 1st branch stolons. 5. Stolon nodes of both Zoysia japonica and Z. matrella were positively influenced by nit rogen, but no particular increase by imposing clipping height treatment was marked in Zoysiamatrella. Although the stolon of Zoysia japonica grew until late October, the growthstimulated by nitrogen was not so remarkable as to exceed that by nil N.