Weed suppression has been observed in the fine fescues, a group of low-input turfgrasses. Of the fine fescues, Chewings fescue (Festuca rubra L. ssp. commutata Gaudin; CH) and strong creeping red fescue (F. rubra L. ssp. rubra Gaudin; ST) displayed the strongest weed suppression ability in previous research while hard fescue (F. brevipila Tracey; HF) did not appear to have the same level of suppression. However, most of this research occurred more than 10 years ago and did not lead to improved cultivars. There is a need for confirmation of these results using diverse germplasm that may have genetic variability for weed suppression; this information would be useful for turfgrass breeding efforts. Our objective was to screen for weed suppression abilities in 19 fine fescue accessions originally collected in Europe, at two distinct field locations, St. Paul, MN and West Lafayette, IN, infested with smooth crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Schreb. ex Muhl.). Our results confirmed previous reports that the F. rubra taxa are more crabgrass suppressive than HF. Chewings fescue and slender creeping red fescue [F. rubra L. ssp. littoralis (G. Mey.) Auquier; SL] displayed the strongest ability to suppress smooth crabgrass. Results also indicated that there is large variability between the entries within each taxon, including within HF. Slender creeping red fescues were relatively more weed suppressive than previously shown, and this taxon needs further attention. Results suggest further opportunities for plant breeders to develop new weed suppressive cultivars for low-input turfgrass systems.

中文翻译：

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细羊茅（Festuca spp.）杂草抑制的田间评价

在细羊茅中观察到杂草抑制，这是一组低投入的草坪草。细羊茅的，Chewings羊茅（羊茅属亚种。commutata戈丹; CH）和强匍匐紫羊茅（紫羊茅属亚种杨梅戈丹; ST）在以前的研究显示最强的杂草抑制能力，同时硬羊茅（F. brevipila特蕾西；HF) 似乎没有相同水平的抑制。然而，大部分研究发生在 10 多年前，并没有导致改良品种。需要使用可能具有杂草抑制遗传变异性的多种种质来确认这些结果；这些信息将有助于草坪育种工作。我们的目标是筛选最初在欧洲收集的 19 种优质羊茅种质中的杂草抑制能力，在两个不同的田间地点，圣保罗，明尼苏达州和西拉斐特，印第安纳州，感染了光滑的马唐（Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Schreb. ex穆尔。）。我们的结果证实了之前的报道，即F. rubra分类群比 HF 更能抑制马唐草。咀嚼羊茅和细长的匍匐红羊茅[F. rubra L. ssp. littoralis (G. Mey.) Auquier; SL] 显示了最强的抑制光滑马唐的能力。结果还表明，每个分类单元内的条目之间存在很大差异，包括 HF 内。细长的匍匐红羊茅比之前显示的更能抑制杂草，这个分类群需要进一步关注。结果表明，植物育种者有更多机会为低投入草坪系统开发新的杂草抑制品种。