TURF AND PLAYING QUALITY TRAITS OF SOME NEW TURFGRASS ALTERNATIVES IN A MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT

In an attempt to investigate the turfgrass and playing quality characteristics of some newly introduced warm season turf grasses and traditional cool season sports turf mixture, classical and contemporary techniques were imposed on the turfgrass experimental plots of the research area of Department of Field Crops, Agriculture Faculty of Ege University, Bornova/Izmir/Turkey. Some warm season turfgrasses (Cynodon dactylon cv. SR9554, Cynodon dactylon x Cynodon transvaalensis cv. Tifway-419, Paspalum vaginatum cv. Sea Spray and Zoysia japonica cv. Zenith) and traditional cool season sports turf mixture were tested in terms of visual turf quality and playing quality traits (ball rebound, ball roll and shock absorption) on a monthly and seasonal bases for three years under Mediterranean environmental conditions. Significant variations were determined among the turfgrass alternatives in all traits except years. It was concluded that Tifway-419 and Sea Spray turf grasses were the most successful and promising alternatives compared to the other options under Mediterranean environmental conditions.