Low maintenance turf - quality and weed aspects

Turfgrass varieties of Festuca rubra ssp. rubra, F.r. ssp. trichophylla, F. nigrescens, F.arundinacea, F.ovina ssp. vulgaris, F.o. ssp duriuscula, Lolium perenne and Poa pratensis as well as mixtures of high and low share of Lolium perenne were tested in low maintenance conditions during 5 years and evaluated for: shoot density, visual merit and for weed infestation. None of tested entries was able to keep initial quality. Only for few of them (mostly varieties of Festuca ovina ssp. duriuscula and F. arundinacea) visual merit after 5 years was still close to the level of minimal user-accepted value (5 in 1-9 scale). The least visual merit values were noted for Poa pratensis and Festuca rubra ssp. rubra. Twenty weed species of different living forms (geophytes, hemicryptophytes and terophytes) were described. Considering general turf performance, low number of weed species and low number of terophytes, turf mixtures with low share of perennial ryegrass could be recommended for low-maintenance turf.