Creeping Bentgrass Damaged by Low Levels of Atrazine in Irrigation Water

Throughout the north-south climatic transition zone of the eastern United States, cool- and warm-season turfgrasses are used adjacently. A greenhouse study with creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris Huds.) was initiated to determine threshold concentrations of atrazine, an effective pre- and postemergence herbicide for warm-season turfgrasses, that would result in unacceptable levels of phytotoxicity to seedling and mature creeping bentgrass. Mature and 8-week-old seedling `Penncross' creeping bentgrass were given 6.5 mm of daily irrigation of untreated water or water containing atrazine at 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.08, 0.16, 0.32, 0.64, 1.28, or 2.56 mg·liter -1 . A model of quality ratings taken 20 days after the initiation of treatments indicated threshold concentrations resulting in unacceptable turf quality to be approximately 0.05 and 0.08 mg·liter -1 for seedling and mature bentgrass, respectively. Chemical name used: 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-5-isopropylamino-s-triazine (atrazine).