Evaluation of Short Statured Species for Rapid Establishment on Mississippi Roadsides

In an attempt to combat the issue of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started to enforce different areas of the Clean Water Act of 1972 by requiring construction sites to have 70% vegetative cover in 30 days. The main goal of this research is to identify mixes of warm and cool‐season plants that establish quickly. A secondary objective is to identify those species that provide good quality and dense cover that will require minimal maintenance while stabilizing disturbed soils.  One question that must be answered is 30 days from planting or first significant rainfall.  Among warm season species bermudagrass and bahiagrass were found to establish well but failed to reach 70% cover in 30 days. Among cool season species turf type tall fescue was one perennial species that established well but not rapidly enough, its height remained less than 100 mm for much of the growing season and never exceeded 100 cm. Oil seed radish showed great promise as a year round nurse crop that established quickly. Sods of hybrid bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and centipedegrass all provided instant cover that has lasted more than 2 years.

• Record URL:
  http://mdot.ms.gov/documents/research/Reports/Interim%20and%20Final%20Reports/State%20Study%20234%20-%20Evaluation%20of%20Short%20Statured%20Species%20for%20Rapid%20Establishment%20on%20Mississippi%20Roadsides.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Mississippi State University, Mississippi State

  Department of Plant and Soil Sciences
  32 Creelman Street, 117 Dorman Hall
  Mississippi State, MS  United States  39762

  Mississippi Department of Transportation

  401 North West Street, P.O. Box 1850
  Jackson, MS  United States  39215-1850

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Stewart, Barry R
  • Bradford, T J
• Publication Date: 2014-6-30

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 68p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Evaluation; Grasses; Ground cover; Landscape maintenance; Roadside flora; Soil stabilization; Vegetation
• Geographic Terms: Mississippi
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; I15: Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01538116
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/MS‐DOT‐RD‐14‐234, PSS-MS-DOT-14-1
• Contract Numbers: SS‐234
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 25 2014 8:59AM