• Weed & Turfgrass Science
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.140-147
• /
• 2018

In Korea, mowing the grass of a grave (Beolcho) is a very important event preceded by Chuseok (Korean thanks giving day) and Si-Hyang (annual ancestral feast). Because Beolcho usually takes place one or two weeks before Chuseok, the traffic accidents on roads are getting worse and safety accidents are getting more and more. Erroneous Beolcho methods can cause the soil to be exposed and cause the loss of soil or the low shoot density of graveyard grass or weed occurrence. Therefore, the dispersion of the Beolcho timing and the approprite method can be import issues. The present study assessed the effects of grass mowing timing and height before Chuseok on the growth of Zoysia japonica and Z. matrella. The mowing timing was evaluated at 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 4 weeks before Chuseok, and the mowing height differently according to the two type of grass. In Z. japonica, the faster mowing before Chuseok, the longer the plant height, and the coverage rate and shoot density were higher. In Z. matrella, the faster mowing, the longer the shoot length, but the coverage rate and shoot density did not show any difference or tendency. As compared to Z. japonica, the plant height of Z. matrella was kept short regardless of the time of mowing. In both grasses, the plant height was shortened when mowing was done at low cutting height, but the coverage rate and shoot density were decreased. In addition, it was shown that it is advantageous to maintain the shoot density of graveyard lawn by 40-50 mm or 30-40 mm cutting above the ground for Z. japonica or Z. matrella, respectively.

• Weed & Turfgrass Science
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.130-135
• /
• 2017

In the current study, we surveyed the status of graveyard lawn maintenance in Korea. The lawn maintenance information was obtained from the vicarious companies registered on the internet portal site and the Forestry Federation of Korea, and the questionnaire investigation from Primary Agricultural Cooperatives (Nonghyup). In all provinces surveyed, individual graves were maintained on a $66m^2$ (20 Pyeong) basis. The vicarious maintenance of graveyard lawn was carried out 1~5 times a year, and the maintenance cost increased as the number of times increased. Mowing the grass around a grave (Beolcho) was mainly done before the Korean Thanksgiving Day (Chuseok). The number of Beolcho was steadily increased from 2013 to 2015, and the price was getting higher and higher. Gyeonggi province had the highest cost, and Jeolla had the lowest cost. Regardless of the year, the number of orders received were higher in Gyeongnam > Gyeongbuk > Jeonnam province in order. Most of the reason for requested Beolcho was because the client lives in the area far from the graveyard. The direction of the cemetery was very varied. According to the survey, the all grass were zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica), and grass coverage rate of the graves was 35.4~71.9%. Through questionnaire investigation, the reason why the density of grass was lowered was because the periodic management of weeds and fallen leaves was insufficient. Further research on the maintenance of graveyard in the future will be necessary.