Spyglass Perennial Ryegrass
Spyglass perennial ryegrass (experimental JR‐192) Lolium perenne has been tested in NTEP trials since 2010.
SALT TOLERANCE
Spyglass is a good solution for areas with salt issues or that use gray water for irrigation. University of Rhode Island tested Spyglass in a greenhouse water‐bath salt study where salt levels were as high as 17500 ppm (27 dS m‐1 ). For reference, sea water is about 45 dS m‐1 and at 10‐20 dS, turf managers should consider using a species other than ryegrass. From 12 to 16 dS Spyglass maintained 100% ground cover, at 20 dS level 71% of its ground cover remained. A good salt tolerant blend would include Spyglass with Caddieshack II and Accent perennial ryegrass which have also shown enhanced salt tolerance.
DROUGHT TOLERANCE
Water restrictions make drought performance in turfgrass a concern. In a Virginia study irrigation was withheld during June and July, by early September, Spyglass was back to 59% green which was comparable to the top rated entry in this trial.
HIGH PERFORMANCE TURF
Dark green color and fine texture produces a beautiful, high performance turf, and Spyglass thrives under diverse weather conditions from hot/humid summers to cold winters. Spyglass is a good choice for winter overseeding of dormant bermudagrass and has been tested in both company and NTEP locations. Spyglass provides a uniform overseeding quality during the winter and transitions in early summer back to bermudagrass and is adaptable to all golf course mowing heights for winter overseeding of dormant bermuda. For permanent turf it adapts from ½” (13 mm) to higher cutting heights of 1½” to 3” (37 to 75 mm) for parks and home lawns. Spyglass performs well alone or in mixtures with Jacklin bluegrasses or fine fescues in temperate and transition zone climates.
WEAR TOLERANCE
Spyglass shows good wear tolerance for sports field use, ranked 7th in quality in a California traffic stress study and comparable to the top entry in Pennsylvania and Virginia traffic trials.
SEEDING RATE
Spyglass has shown excellent seedling vigor providing quick grow‐in of new plantings. For lawns, plant at 4‐7 lbs/1000 ft.2 (20‐35 g/m2 ).