| Water shortage in cities causes great attentions on the irrigation of turf grasses. To improve the water efficiency in turf management, a series experiments were conducted at the China Agricultural University Experimental Station, to study the effects of mowed heights (5, 10, 15 cm and no mowing) of turf grasses on the water consumptions and grass growths with 3 grass species (Poa pratensis, Festuca arundinacea, Lolium perenne) suing portable lysimeters, under full water supply conditions. Water requirements for the 3 grasses were estimated with water balance model. The water consumptions, growths and water production functions as well as crop factors and water requirement coefficients, of the 3 species were determined with the experimental data. The water consumptions under the 4 mowed heights during the experimental period were 201.8, 241.3, 282.3 and 319.1 mm for Poa pratensis, 221.6, 278.3, 308.9, and 335.6 mm for Festuca arundinacea; 223.7, 263.5, 299.6 and 366.6 mm for Lolium perenne respectively. Water consumptions increase with the grasses' heights though differed for different species. The cumulative water consumption of the un-mowed grasses as compared with those mowed to 5, 10 and 15 cm heights were 1.58, 1.32 and 1.13 times higher for Poa pratensis; 1.51, 1.20, and 1.15 times higher for Festuca arundinacea; and 1.50, 1.27 and 1.12 times higher for Lolium perenne. The reductions in water consumptions for grasses mowed to 5 cm height were 37% (Poa pratensis), 34% (Festuca arundinacea) and 34% (Lolium perenne) lower than those for the un-mowed grasses. The estimated crop factors (K_c) were 1.62, 1.77, and 1.79 and the water requirement coefficients based on Chinese Evaporation Pan were 0.62, 0.68, and 0.69 for Poa pratensis, Festuca arundinacea, Lolium perenne respectively. The determined parameters could be useful for the planning and management of irrigation systems of turf grasses in the areas of similar conditions.
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