Effects of cutting height and frequency on tall fescue and buffalograss

Abstract

Mowing is a cultural practice needed to maintain an attractive lawn but requires labor and increases net carbon emissions. Reducing mowing decreases labor and net carbon emissions but may decrease the visual quality of lawns. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.; syn. Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort., nom. cons.; syn. Lolium arundinaceau (Schreb.) Darbysh) and buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides (Nutt.) Columbus) lawns are recommended to remove only 33% of leaf tissue at every mowing event, whereas this has not been compared to other mowing frequency treatments. The objectives of this study were to (i) determine how mowing frequency and height of cut affect visual quality; (ii) quantify how different mowing frequencies and heights of cut affect cumulative clipping yield; (iii) quantify how cumulative mowing events varied among mowing frequencies; and (iv) determine the ideal number of mowing events to maintain ideal visual quality with the lowest cumulative biomass. The visual quality of both tall fescue and buffalograss increased with increasing mowing frequency. Cumulative annual biomass production is 13% and 43% higher at the 5.1 cm height of cut for both tall fescue and buffalograss, respectively. As mowing frequency increases, the cumulative annual biomass production decreases in tall fescue to the monthly, semiannual, or annual mowing frequencies. Mowing frequency has no significant effect on buffalograss cumulative annual biomass production. Mowing based on removing 25% and 33% of the leaf maintains acceptable visual quality while having the fewest mowing events in both species. Quadratic regression quantifies that the ideal number of mowing events was from 8 to 19, and at least 13 in tall fescue and buffalograss lawns, respectively, in Lincoln, NE, to maintain acceptable visual quality with the minimum amount of cumulative biomass production.