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Grass Species Catalog

LocalSky ships a built-in catalog of 12 grass species + ornamental categories with monthly Kc curves, root zone depths, and MAD percentages. Source: src/engine/species_catalog.rs.

ETc for any zone equals ET0 * Kc(species, day-of-year) * heat_multiplier. Picking the right species is the single most impactful zone setting.

Warm-season turfgrasses (Florida-centric)

These five are LocalSky’s primary use case. UF/IFAS Extension publication numbers cited.

St. Augustinegrass

  • Citation: UF/IFAS ENH62, “St. Augustinegrass for Florida Lawns”
  • Kc (Jan-Dec): 0.55 / 0.60 / 0.70 / 0.85 / 0.95 / 1.00 / 1.00 / 1.00 / 0.95 / 0.85 / 0.70 / 0.55
  • Root zone depth: ~150 mm (4-6 in; aerated lawns up to 6 in)
  • MAD: 50%
  • Salinity tolerance: ~6 dS/m (ECe at 50% yield)
  • Mow height: 3.5 in
  • Notes: most common Florida turf. Shallow-rooted; prefers deeper, less-frequent watering. Active growth Apr-Oct; semi-dormant Nov-Mar in north FL.

Bermudagrass

  • Citation: UF/IFAS ENH19, “Bermudagrass for Florida Lawns”
  • Kc (Jan-Dec): 0.50 / 0.55 / 0.65 / 0.80 / 0.90 / 0.95 / 0.95 / 0.95 / 0.90 / 0.80 / 0.65 / 0.50
  • Root zone depth: ~200 mm (4-8 in; deep on sand)
  • MAD: 50%
  • Salinity tolerance: ~8 dS/m
  • Mow height: 1.5 in
  • Notes: deepest-rooted common turf. Drought-tolerant; can go semi-dormant in heat.

Zoysiagrass

  • Citation: UF/IFAS ENH11, “Zoysiagrass for Florida Lawns”
  • Kc (Jan-Dec): 0.55 / 0.60 / 0.65 / 0.75 / 0.85 / 0.90 / 0.90 / 0.90 / 0.85 / 0.75 / 0.65 / 0.55
  • Root zone depth: ~150 mm
  • MAD: 50%
  • Salinity tolerance: ~7 dS/m
  • Mow height: 2.0 in
  • Notes: slow but dense; tolerates moderate shade; recovers slowly from drought.

Bahiagrass

  • Citation: UF/IFAS ENH6, “Bahiagrass for Florida Lawns”
  • Kc (Jan-Dec): 0.55 / 0.60 / 0.65 / 0.75 / 0.80 / 0.85 / 0.85 / 0.85 / 0.80 / 0.75 / 0.65 / 0.55
  • Root zone depth: ~200 mm
  • MAD: 55%
  • Salinity tolerance: ~4 dS/m
  • Mow height: 3.5 in
  • Notes: drought-tolerant; common Florida pasture grass; tolerates low fertility.

Centipedegrass

  • Citation: UF/IFAS ENH8, “Centipedegrass for Florida Lawns”
  • Kc (Jan-Dec): 0.50 / 0.55 / 0.60 / 0.70 / 0.80 / 0.85 / 0.85 / 0.85 / 0.80 / 0.70 / 0.60 / 0.50
  • Root zone depth: ~100 mm (3-5 in; shallow)
  • MAD: 50%
  • Salinity tolerance: ~3 dS/m
  • Mow height: 2.0 in
  • Notes: low-maintenance; iron-chlorotic on high-pH soils.

Cool-season turfgrasses

For northern and transitional-zone users. Curves drawn from FAO-56 Table 12.

Kentucky Bluegrass

  • Kc (Jan-Dec): 0.55 / 0.60 / 0.75 / 0.85 / 0.85 / 0.80 / 0.78 / 0.80 / 0.85 / 0.80 / 0.65 / 0.55
  • Root zone depth: ~150 mm
  • MAD: 50%
  • Notes: self-repairs via rhizomes; dormant in summer drought without irrigation. Peak ET in spring/fall; summer heat stress dips Kc.

Tall Fescue

  • Kc (Jan-Dec): 0.55 / 0.65 / 0.78 / 0.85 / 0.85 / 0.80 / 0.78 / 0.80 / 0.85 / 0.80 / 0.65 / 0.55
  • Root zone depth: ~250 mm (6-12 in; deepest cool-season)
  • MAD: 55%
  • Notes: deep-rooted; most heat- and drought-tolerant cool-season grass.

Perennial Ryegrass

  • Kc (Jan-Dec): 0.55 / 0.65 / 0.78 / 0.85 / 0.85 / 0.80 / 0.78 / 0.80 / 0.85 / 0.80 / 0.65 / 0.55
  • Root zone depth: ~125 mm
  • MAD: 50%
  • Notes: quick germination; often used for winter overseeding in the south.

Non-turf categories

Ornamental shrubs

  • Citation: UF/IFAS ENH1115, “Florida-Friendly Landscaping”
  • Kc: 0.45-0.55 year-round (low seasonal variation)
  • Root zone depth: ~250 mm
  • MAD: 40%
  • Notes: established shrubs use ~half the ET0 of turf. Water deeply + infrequently. Drip preferred.

Vegetable garden

  • Kc: 0.55 / 0.65 / 0.75 / 0.90 / 1.10 / 1.15 / 1.15 / 1.05 / 0.90 / 0.75 / 0.65 / 0.55
  • Root zone depth: ~400 mm
  • MAD: 45%
  • Notes: critical at germination and fruit set. Mulch heavily to cut ET. Curve drawn from FAO-56 Table 12 (vegetables mid-season).

Drip xeriscape

  • Kc: 0.25-0.35 year-round
  • Root zone depth: ~300 mm
  • MAD: 30%
  • Notes: established native plantings on drip. Water only during establishment / drought stress.

Other / unknown

  • Kc: 0.70 flat
  • Root zone depth: 150 mm
  • MAD: 50%
  • Notes: generic placeholder. Override per zone with measured values.

How LocalSky uses these

The catalog drives three things:

  1. ETc per zone per day: ET0 * Kc(species, day-of-year). Day-of-year interpolates linearly between mid-month anchor points with Dec/Jan wrap, so the curve is smooth across new year.
  2. Default root zone depth: feeds TAW (Total Available Water) computation, which together with MAD sets the irrigation trigger threshold. Operators can override via ZoneConfig.root_depth_mm.
  3. Default MAD: sets how dry the soil gets before LocalSky recommends watering. Override via ZoneConfig.mad_pct_override.

Contributing a species

New species PRs welcome. Open a PR against src/engine/species_catalog.rs with:

  • 12 monthly Kc values (mid-month anchors)
  • Default root zone depth (mm)
  • Default MAD percentage
  • A citation: FAO-56 Table 12, an Extension publication number, or a peer-reviewed paper. We don’t accept “trust me” submissions.

The catalog stores citation and notes strings inline; the dashboard exposes them in the zone-editor’s species picker so operators see provenance at pick time.