Evaluation of practical usability in two Iranian native grass species

Nowadays, establishment and maintenance of turfgrasses due to high water requirements was faced with serious doubts. Hence, screening of drought resistance native grasses, and introduces them as turfgrass is not only effective in reduction of water usage but can also preserve plant gene pools of the country. In the present experiment, Wheat grass and Bromus as two native grasses were compared with perennial ryegrass as control. After establishment and coverage of the pots surfaces by turfgrass in outdoor, three mowing heights including 2, 4 and 6 cm were applied on the species weekly. During the experiment, shoot growth, tillering, leaf color and leaf width, fresh and dry weight were measured weekly. The results of this research showed that Bromus due to undesirable tissue (leaf width more than 3 mm) and low density is not suitable for use in landscape. Wheat grass despite of rougher texture and less color than perennial ryegrass, has higher tillering, suitable color (7.59) and good texture (leaf width about 2 mm). Also, mowing height of 2 cm was determined as the best for three species studied.