Bermudagrass Establishment, Aesthetics, and Function in Response to the Microbial Inoculant Klebsiella variicola and Fertilizer Timing

Abstract

The incorporation of biostimulants, including microbial inoculants, into turfgrass management programs has increased during the past decade as a result of the potential benefits of their use, including increased nutrient uptake, enhanced growth, and improved stress tolerance. However, minimal research has been conducted on warm-season grasses, and questions still exist regarding microbial inoculant application timing, frequency of inoculation, and need for supplemental nitrogen. Therefore, the objective of our research was to investigate the influence of nitrogen fertilizer and microbial inoculant application timings on the establishment of common bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] in the field and in a controlled environment. Treatments containing fertilizer had a consistently greater normalized difference vegetation index, turfgrass color, and turfgrass quality than treatments that contained only the Klebsiella variicola microbial inoculant (KV). Establishment of bermudagrass plots in response to treatments containing fertilizer had more than 90% cover at the conclusion of the study (8 weeks after seeding), whereas KV treatments and the untreated check never exceeded 70% cover. However, the greatest change in carbon efflux was often observed in the field in response to treatments that supplied KV 3 weeks after seeding. In the greenhouse, the greatest root and shoot weights were typically observed in response to treatments containing fertilizer, whereas KV-alone treatments resulted in root and shoot weights either similar to or less than the untreated check.