Kentucky Bluegrass Responses to Mowing Practice and Nitrogen Fertility Management

ABSTRACT The practice of leaving clippings on the lawn recycles nutrients and reduces yard-waste but the residue of unsightly clippings deters widespread adoption. An experiment was conducted on a Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) turf to evaluate mowing practice in combination with various fertilizer types and application rates. The main objective was to minimize clipping yield while achieving acceptable turfgrass quality. The return of clippings, as compared to clipping removal, was associated with fewer weeds and a darker green more luxuriant turf. Furthermore, the benefits of clipping return were achieved using half (97.6 kg ha□ 1 yr□ 1) as much N as is typically applied (195.2 kg ha□ 1 yr□ 1) for high maintenance turf. Slow-release N fertilizers were shown to reduce spring clipping yield and thereby make the practice of clipping return a more acceptable mowing practice. KEYWORDS: Nitrogenslow-release nitrogenmowingclipping yieldweedsturf qualityKentucky bluegrass