Kurapia completes a drought tolerant evaluation study.
UC Davis and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources jointly performed irrigation trials of Kurapia, a utility ground cover for a 2 year evaluation period between 2012 - 2014. The study was conducted by investigators Karrie Reid, Environmental Horticulture Advisor, UCCE, San Joaquin County, Loren Oki, UCCE Specialist in Landscape Horticulture, UC Davis, Dept. of Plant Sciences, Jared Sisneroz, Staff Research Associate, UC Davis, Dept. of Plant Sciences, in cooperation with David Fujino, Executive Director, California Center for Urban Horticulture, UC Davis.
There were four treatment levels: 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20% of ET0, corresponding to high, moderate, moderate-low, and low irrigation levels, as described in The Water Use Classification of Landscape Species IV (WUCOLS IV, 2014).
The test result states the first thing to note about Kurapia’s its vigor. It also discusses that during the deficit irrigation portion of the trials the second year, there were no significant differences in growth between treatments when measured as an overall plant growth index or a relative index. The quality of the plant was not significantly affected by irrigation level either.
Kurapia shows extreme adaptability to irrigation levels, but due to its high performance level at the lowest irrigation rate in this trial, it recommends that, once established, it be irrigated at the 20% level and no more than 40% level of ET0, as additional water does not represent a significant gain in appearance or size. These recommendations are based on using drip irrigation in a clay-loam soil, and may not be reproducible in lighter soils or with the use of overhead spray irrigation.
Media contact:
Koji Ishii, Kurapia, Inc., 844-587-2742, k.ishii@kurapia.com
###
