Drought and heat stresses are major challenges for turfgrass management in the desert southwest of the United States where rainfall is insufficient to support managed turfgrass growth. Irrigation water availability and its quality are increasingly strained due to diminishing surface water supplies. Unprecedented drought conditions threaten the reliance on groundwater supplies that are heavily scrutinized for irrigation practices on landscape and recreational turfgrass. Therefore, development of drought tolerant cultivars, lower input turf management strategies that sustains turfgrass appearance and performance with less irrigation water, and tolerance to higher seasonal temperatures will be critically important. Sustainability of acceptable quality turfgrass can be accomplished through harnessing the natural genetic variation, genetic manipulation using modern genomic technology, and optimizing turfgrass management practices for improved drought tolerance. Besides persistent efforts of varietal development and improved turfgrass management for drought tolerance and performance, redefining the quality of irrigated turfgrass for consumers to align with the environmental conditions is envisioned to foster a sustainable golf, sports fields, and landscape turfgrass industry in the region. A comprehensive study encompassing different turfgrass species and enhancing management practices to achieve acceptable performing turfgrass as well as outreach education to improve public perception of realities for a “green” environment will be critically important. The recent developments in turfgrass science and contemporary communication platforms are instrumental in increasing awareness for a sustainable turfgrass paradigm and sustain eco-tourism of the region.

Landscape irrigation frequency restrictions are commonly imposed by water purveyors and municipalities to curtail domestic water use and to ensure adequate water supplies for growing populations during times of drought. Currently, published data are lacking concerning irrigation frequency requirements necessary for sustaining acceptable levels of turfgrass quality of commonly used warm-season turfgrass species. The objective of this 3-year field study was to determine comparative turfgrass quality of drought-resistant cultivars of four warm-season lawn species in the south–central United States under irrigation frequency regimes of 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8× monthly. Turfgrasses used in the study were based on previously reported drought resistance and included ‘Riley’s Super Sport’ (Celebration ^® ) bermudagrass [ Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], ‘Palisades’ zoysiagrass ( Zoysia japonica Steud.), ‘Floratam’ st. augustinegrass [ Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze], and ‘SeaStar’ seashore paspalum ( Paspalum vaginatum Swartz). During each growing season, slightly reduced irrigation volumes and bypassed events resulted from the 8× monthly treatment (34.95 cm, 38.13 cm, and 27.33 cm) compared with the 4× monthly treatment (35.36 cm, 40.84 cm, and 28.70 cm) in years 1, 2, and 3, respectively. For the once weekly treatment, the average fraction of reference evapotranspiration (ET _o ) supplied by effective rainfall and irrigation during the summer months was 1.22, 0.67, and 0.83 in years 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and was generally adequate to support acceptable turfgrass quality of all warm-season turfgrasses evaluated. Under the less than weekly irrigation frequency, st. augustinegrass and seashore paspalum generally fell to below acceptable quality levels because the average fraction of ET _o supplied by effective rainfall and irrigation during the summer months of years 2 and 3 was 0.51, 0.39, and 0.26 for the 2× monthly, 1× monthly, and unirrigated treatments, respectively. Bermudagrass generally outperformed all other species under the most restrictive irrigation frequencies and also did not differ statistically from zoysiagrass. These results show that as irrigation frequency is restricted to less than once per week, species selection becomes an important consideration.

The development of management plans which lead to water efficient landscapes is a growing need in the turfgrass community. While deficit irrigation as a scheduling method can improve water conservation, more information is desired on how to best leverage other management practices, such as mowing height when deficit irrigation is imposed. The objectives of this study were to characterize actual evapotranspiration (ET_a), turfgrass visual quality, clipping production, and root development of ‘TifTuf’ bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon × C. transvaalensis Burt Davy) when irrigated at full (1.0 × ET_a) and deficit levels (0.65 and 0.30 × ET_a), and cut at four separate mowing heights (2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 cm) over two 8-week experimental runs. An elevated ET_a was observed at the 7.5 cm and 10.0 cm mowing heights compared to the 2.5 cm mowing height in both runs, and the 5.0 cm mowing height in one run. The visual quality decreased throughout both study periods and mostly for the deficit irrigation treatments, with visual quality falling below minimum acceptable levels at the lowest irrigation level (0.30 × ET_a) 5 weeks into run A, and 8 weeks into run B. Despite an elevated ET_a and a higher root dry weight at higher mowing heights (7.5 and 10.0 cm), clipping production and visual quality was generally higher at lower mowing heights (2.5 and 5.0 cm) for both full and deficit irrigation levels. These results demonstrate that mowing height can significantly influence bermudagrass water use, as well as responses to deficit irrigation. When maintaining ‘TifTuf’ bermudagrass at heights above 2.5 cm, the results from this study indicate a lower water use and improved response to deficit irrigation at mowing heights ≤ 5 cm.

Efficient and affordable plant phenotyping methods are an essential response to global climatic pressures. This study demonstrates the continued potential of consumer-grade photography to capture plant phenotypic traits in turfgrass and derive new calculations. Yet the effects of image corrections on individual calculations are often unreported. Turfgrass lysimeters were photographed over 8 weeks using a custom lightbox and consumer-grade camera. Subsequent imagery was analyzed for area of cover, color metrics, and sensitivity to image corrections. Findings were compared to active spectral reflectance data and previously reported measurements of visual quality, productivity, and water use. Results confirm that Red–Green–Blue imagery effectively measures plant treatment effects. Notable correlations were observed for corrected imagery, including between yellow fractional area with human visual quality ratings (r = −0.89), dark green color index with clipping productivity (r = 0.61), and an index combination term with water use (r = −0.60). The calculation of green fractional area correlated with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (r = 0.91), and its RED reflectance spectra (r = −0.87). A new chromatic ratio correlated with Normalized Difference Red-Edge index (r = 0.90) and its Red-Edge reflectance spectra (r = −0.74), while a new calculation correlated strongest to Near-Infrared (r = 0.90). Additionally, the combined index term significantly differentiated between the treatment effects of date, mowing height, deficit irrigation, and their interactions (p < 0.001). Sensitivity and statistical analyses of typical image file formats and corrections that included JPEG, TIFF, geometric lens distortion correction, and color correction were conducted. Findings highlight the need for more standardization in image corrections and to determine the biological relevance of the new image data calculations.

Low-quality (i.e., impaired) water sources are commonly used to irrigate warm-season turfgrass landscapes as a result of limited supplies of potable water sources. Currently, there is great need to define the impacts of impaired water sources on turfgrass water consumption, growth, and quality. The objectives of this study were to characterize actual evaporation (ET _a ), clipping production, and quality of three hybrid bermudagrass varieties [‘TifTuf’, ‘Tifway’, and ‘Midiron’; Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. × C. traansvalensis Burtt Davy] grown under three water sources [reverse osmosis (RO), local well, and recycled], each supplied at full irrigation levels (1.0 × ET _a ) over two 8-week study periods. When pooling across water source and date, TifTuf maintained the highest visual quality and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) compared with both Midiron and Tifway. This was accompanied by a greater daily ET _a rate, clipping production, and water use efficiency (WUE) compared with Midiron in both studies. When pooling across variety and date, daily ET _a of turfgrass receiving recycled water was 5% to 10% less than those receiving the local well or RO water. In addition, turfgrasses receiving local well water held the greatest visual quality and NDVI compared with those receiving either RO water in the summer study. Visual quality and NDVI were also less in turfgrasses receiving RO water compared with those receiving local well or recycled water in the fall. Despite turfgrasses having a lower ET _a under recycled water in both study periods, these plants had significantly greater clipping production compared with RO water in the summer. Also, clipping production under recycled water did not differ significantly from the other two sources in the fall study. Furthermoe, in both studies, WUE was similar for turfgrasses receiving recycled water compared with those receiving RO or local well water. Results demonstrated that irrigation water quality influences critical factors for hybrid bermudagrass growth and that considerable variability exists among three commercially available varieties for evapotranspiration rates, quality, and clipping production.