Warm-season turf species are becoming increasingly popular for putting green use in the transition zone. Ultradwarf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.)  C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy) is the prevalent warm-season putting green species, but seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz) and ‘Diamond’ zoysiagrass [Zoysia matrella (L.) Merr.] may also be grown in the transition zone. Warm-season species are susceptible to winter injury and may require different management regimes than cool-season species. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to assess the impacts of various management practices on warm-season putting green species and characterize the physiological basis for differences in freeze tolerance of various warm-season putting green species. Field studies determined sampling procedures form thatch-mat depth and soil organic matter content of warm-season putting greens and assessed the impact of various management practices on different warm-season putting green species/varieties. The relative freeze tolerance of ‘Champion’ and ‘TifEagle’ ultradwarf bermudagrass cultivars, ‘SeaDwarf’ seashore paspalum, and Diamond zoysiagrass were determined, along with the accumulation of proline and polyamines during cold acclimation, in growth chamber studies. All species/varieties required different sampling numbers for determination of thatch-mat depth and soil organic matter. More sand was incorporated into the turf canopy and surface hardness was increased with brushing and vibratory rolling TifEagle putting greens after sand topdressing application than either treatment alone. Putting green management programs with lower mowing heights and increased mowing frequencies increased ball roll distance on a MiniVerde putting green without negatively affecting turf quality. Weekly vertical mowing + daily grooming on TifEagle reduced thatch depth and turfgrass quality, while increasing topdressing incorporation over either treatment alone. Diamond was the most freeze tolerant species/variety, followed by TifEagle, Champion, then SeaDwarf. Cold acclimation increased proline concentration for all species/varieties except SeaDwarf, but had inconsistent effects on polyamines. Spermidine and putrescine concentrations differed with species/variety, but were not correlated to freeze tolerance.

Traditional aerification programs can cause substantial damage to the playing surface resulting in prolonged recovery. A growing trend in the industry involves using aerification techniques that cause minimum surface disruption; however, despite growing interest in new and alternative aerification technology, there is a lack of information in the literature comparing new or alternative technology with traditional methods on warm season grasses. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine the best combination of new dry-injection (DI) cultivation technology with modified traditional aerification programs to achieve minimal surface disruption without a compromise in soil physical properties. Research was conducted at the Mississippi State University golf course practice putting green and at the Mississippi State University practice football field during. Treatments compared different combinations of hollow tine (HT) aerification and DI from Jun to Aug in 2014 and 2015.

This research addressed the effects of cultural management practices, cultivar selection, and applications of seasonal fungicides on ultradwarf bermudagrass health and playability and occurrence of foliar diseases. Additionally, novel ectotrophic root-infecting fungi were isolated from ultradwarf bermudagrass roots exhibiting symptoms of summer decline, identified via multilocus phylogenetic analyses, and characterized by morphological assessments and pathogenicity evaluations.