ABSTRACT
Superior greens-type Poa annua (P. annua L. f. reptans [Hauskins] T.Koyama) selections offer the prospect for an alternative to Agrostis stolonifera (A. stolonifera L.) for establishing golf greens with excellent putting characteristics. This study evaluated nine Poa annua selections planted in turfs comprised of three different Agrostis Stolonifera cultivars under two cultural intensities. Under fairway-type culture, all of the Poa annua selections were overgrown by all Agrostis stolonifera cultivars within the first year; however, under greens-type culture, most of the Poa annua selections persisted and the bentgrasses varied in their competitive ability, with Penn A-4 being more competitive than Penncross or Pennlinks. The Poa annua selections varied widely in their competitive ability under greens-type culture, with the most competitive selection increasing its surface coverage 15-fold and the least competitive selection decreasing its coverage two-thirds, from the 10-cm-diameter plugs planted four years earlier. Thus, some of the superior greens-type Poa annua selections formed very dense populations that not only resisted invasion by other turfgrass populations, including wild-type Poa annua, but actually increased coverage within their respective communities under greens-type culture.
