Irrigation Strategies for Turfgrass Management

Effective irrigation is central to sustainable turfgrass management, balancing aesthetic quality, playing surface characteristics and water conservation. Traditional approaches have relied on fixed schedules based on calendar days, but modern strategies increasingly employ environmental feedback, soil moisture sensing and species‐specific water requirements. Key elements include defining acceptable turf thresholds, quantifying evapotranspiration demands, and applying deficit or cyclic irrigation to optimise depth and frequency. Soil characteristics, climate variability and turf species influence root development, water‐holding capacity and drought resilience, prompting tailored approaches such as subsurface drip systems in high‐value athletic fields or targeted spray patterns in ornamental lawns. Integration of weather data and real‐time soil moisture monitoring enables dynamic adjustment of irrigation volumes, reducing runoff and deep percolation losses. In water‐scarce regions, precision irrigation guided by turfgrass water response functions and distribution uniformity assessments supports both visual quality and ecosystem services, including urban cooling and carbon sequestration. Adoption of best management practices, from smart controllers to regulated deficit irrigation, underpins a global transition towards resource‐efficient turf maintenance without compromising performance.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Irrigation Strategies for Turfgrass Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in irrigation strategies for turfgrass management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Reference evapotranspiration (ETo): The estimated rate at which water is lost from a well‐watered grass surface, used as a standard for irrigation scheduling.

Turfgrass water response function (TWRF): A mathematical relationship linking irrigation input (as a proportion of ETo) to turf quality ratings under specified conditions.

Distribution uniformity (DU): A measure of how evenly irrigation water is applied across a turf area, affecting efficiency and turf health.

Smart irrigation controller: An automated system that adjusts irrigation timing and volume based on environmental inputs such as weather data and soil moisture readings.

References

1. Evaluating the tradeoffs between water conservation, aesthetic value, evaporative cooling and CO2 emissions in St. augustinegrass and buffalograss. Agricultural Water Management (2024).
2. Hybrid Bermudagrass and Tall Fescue Turfgrass Irrigation in Central California: I. Assessment of Visual Quality, Soil Moisture and Performance of an ET-Based Smart Controller. Agronomy (2021).