Turfgrass water needs

Even with the bit of rain we recently received, Southern California remains in drought condition. There is less water, and the water that remains is becoming increasingly more expensive. A collection of UC scientists have recently released a free publication titled, “Managing Turfgrasses during Drought. While this publication will certainly be helpful to home gardeners, it will be of great help to those responsible for maintaining large areas of turf.

• Benefits of turfgrass
• Reasons some grasses are more drought resistant than others
• Research being conducted to develop even more drought resistant varieties
• Difference between optimal, deficit and survival watering
• Using evapotraspiration CIMIS (see previous posts on CIMIS here) to make wise watering decisions
• Irrigation needs for different soil types
• How mowing height and frequency effect water use
• Fertilizer requirements and considerations
• Ways to avoid water runoff
• Irrigation systems and design tips
• Redesigning landscape features to make the most of your water.
• And more.

Links to additional resources and publications are available at the start of the download, and at the end of the publication.