Minimal light requirements and performance under reduced photosynthetic photon flux of GA2ox‐transformed and conventional Kentucky bluegrass

Abstract

AbstractShade stress is a common problem encountered in turfgrass management situations worldwide. Shade reduces photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), alters light quality, reduces air movement, and may introduce tree root competition. As a species, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) possesses relatively poor shade tolerance, which limits its use in reduced light environments. However, genetic alteration of the gibberellic acid enzyme pathway has shown promise in some plant species for improving growth in shade. The objective of this 2‐year field study was to determine the comparative performance under reduced PPF and determine minimal daily light integral (DLIm) requirements for acceptable quality of a conventional (CONV) Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) blend and gibberellic acid 2‐oxidase (GA2ox) transformed “ProVista” (PV) KBG. A 2‐year field study was conducted under neutral density shade treatments producing monthly daily light integrals averaging from ∼5.8 (90% shade) to 48 mol m−2 day−1 (full sun) for mid‐June through October study periods. Based on nonlinear regression of mean monthly DLI during the study period versus turfgrass quality (TQ) at the end of each study period, DLIm was found to range from 7.5 to 10 mol m−2 day−1 for PV and from 22.5 to 26.2 mol m−2 day−1 for CONV KBG. Improved TQ of PV under low light intensities may be associated with reduced rates of leaf elongation, greater stand density, higher chlorophyll concentrations, and darker green color compared to CONV KBG. Although shade duration did not exceed 4 months, the results suggest that GA2ox‐transformed PV KBG possesses improved tolerance to reduced PPF compared to CONV KBG.