Autonomous Compared with Conventional Mower Use on St. Augustinegrass Lawn Quality

Autonomous (i.e., robotic) mowers have recently garnered interest with the public and within the turfgrass industry. However, limited research has been conducted on their use for mowing warm-season turfgrasses. An experiment was conducted at the University of Florida's West Florida Research and Education Center (Jay, FL, USA) to investigate the performance of an autonomous mower using a lower than recommended height-of-cut on St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum). Treatments included an autonomous mower with a height-of-cut of 2.5 inches set to mow daily and a conventional mulching mower with weekly mowing at recommended height-of-cut of 3.5 inches. Data collection included weekly digital images that were subjected to digital image analysis to determine overall turfgrass quality, percent green cover, and uniformity. The autonomous mower resulted in greater overall turfgrass quality from January to March and in November, and greater green cover from November to April compared with conventional mowing. Additionally, the autonomous mower produced greater turfgrass uniformity than conventional mowing. Results indicate that autonomous mowers can be successfully used to maintain St. Augustinegrass at a lower than recommended height-of-cut.