A FEASIBILITY STUDY INTO THE USE OF REFLECTED LIGHT TO IMPROVE TURFGRASS GROWTH IN SHADED AREAS

C. Mumford, A.W. Vickers, I.T. James
Turfgrass growth and development is adversely affected by the low light intensities caused by shade. The changes exhibited by the grass plant are typically a reduced shoot density with longer thinner leaves and a taller upright habit. These changes adversely affect the grass plant’s ability to photosynthesise and produce biomass, limiting recovery from applied wear stress. This research investigated whether it was feasible to use reflected sunlight to improve turfgrass growth in shaded areas. The experiment comprised a replicated two-way factorial experiment with shade and mirror-reflected light treatments. Environmental conditions, including light intensity, soil temperature and air temperature; along with turfgrass responses, biomass production, percentage ground cover, root length, and dry weight; were measured and analysed using analysis of variance. The mirror-reflected light significantly increased in-plot light intensity (F <0.001) and grass root length (F <0.004). An increase in grass coverage as a result of using reflected light in a shaded environment was also observed. The mirror-reflected light treatment consistently improved the environmental conditions and growth characteristics that were measured in the shaded and non-shaded treatments. This study shows that at a plot scale reflected light can improve turfgrass growth in shaded areas.
Mumford, C., Vickers, A.W. and James, I.T. (2004). A FEASIBILITY STUDY INTO THE USE OF REFLECTED LIGHT TO IMPROVE TURFGRASS GROWTH IN SHADED AREAS. Acta Hortic. 661, 565-569
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.661.77
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.661.77
turf, mirror, stadia, stadium, shading, pitch
English

Acta Horticulturae