Changes in Turfgrass Leaf Chlorophyll Content and Some Soil Characteristics as Influenced by Irrigation Treatments

抄録

In plants, less water causes photosynthesis reduction whereas excessive water reduces the soil nutrients. These effects induce stunted plant growth. The aim of this work was to study the changes in leaf chlorophyll content and some soil characteristics of the native common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.) as influenced by irrigation treatments. Two ex-periments, open bottom 4 x 1 m concrete blocks and closed bottom pots were set up during the dry season from January to May 2011 at the Horticultural Section, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University. The experimental designs were randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 4 daily irrigation levels; 0.50 evaporation pan (0.50E_pan), 0.75E_pan, 1.00E_pan (control) and 1.25E_pan. The results showed that 1.25E_pan irrigation in open bottom concrete blocks significantly increased leaching of essential soil nutrients and decreased leaf chlorophyll content. The 0.50E_pan irrigation treatment in pot experiment which was meant to resemble drought conditions had the low-est values in leaf chlorophyll content for the first two months. However, there were no differences in leaf chlorophyll content in all the treatments for the last two months. Moreover, the soil nutrients in all the treatments were not leached out in the closed bottom pot experiment. Therefore, the optimum watering amount should be taken into consideration.