As the weather cools down in the fall, cool-season turfgrasses upright shoot growth slows, leaf area diminishes, and the plant begins to focus on accumulation of lipids and carbohydrates in preparation for winter. The colder weather and shrinking day lengths trigger these physiological and structural changes inside turfgrass cells. Turf requires several cycles of …show more content…
The tissue water content drops during the hardening process from approximately 85% to 65-70% range as creeping bentgrass begins to enter dormancy (Beard, 1997). The low-temperature hardiness for creeping bentgrass is similar to that of Kentucky bluegrass and more than likely has a similar drop in tissue water content and accumulation of carbohydrates. In contract, perennial ryegrass is unable to lower its water content below 80%, resulting in increased likelihood of direct low temperature kill (Beard, 1997). Overall, the degree at which the turfgrass can make these physiological and structural changes inside cells relates to the turfgrasses overall freezing