Turf performance of seeded bermudagrass cultivars - GCSAA

anked near the bottom in turf performanceratings. Low-growing cultivars,including Princess, Sundance, Savannah(4), and PST-R69C, displayed lowerseedling vigor but higher performanceafter initiation of mowing. Seededbermudagrass has been well known foreasy establishment because of rapid germinationand growth. Compared withother warm-season species, none of thecultivars evaluated had unacceptableseedling vigor.Turf qualityTurf quality ratings are the mostused tool for evaluating turfgrasses. Inour evaluation of bermudagrasses weconsidered several components to arriveat quality scores — uniformity, density,leaf texture, color and the presence orabsence of seedheads. Quality ratingswere made twice monthly during eachgrowing season.The seeded cultivars that maintainedthe highest quality scores includedPrincess, Sundance and Savannah. Mostcultivars achieved quality that wassignificantly higher than ArizonaCommon, including NuMex Sahara.Princess, Sundance, Savannah,Sultan, Sunstar, Del Sol, ED1, Mirage,Sundevil II, MD2, Sonesta, PST-R69C,SW1-11, J-1224, J-540 and OKS 95-1 alldisplayed significantly higher turf qualitythan NuMex Sahara for at least onegrowing season in one or more experiments.None of the seeded cultivarsachieved the turf quality of Tifway.Leaf textureLeaf texture (blade width) and turfdensity have improved more than anyother aspect of turf quality as a result ofbreeders’ work with seeded bermudagrass.These traits are usually linked —the finer the leaf blades, the higher theturf density. In our evaluations,Princess, Sundance and Savannah displayedthe finest leaf texture amongseeded cultivars. Sultan, Sundevil II, DelSol, Sunstar and Mirage were also significantlyfiner than NuMex Sahara andArizona Common. Tifway was significantlyfiner than any seeded cultivar.Guymon bermudagrass had the coarsestleaf texture in our experiments, followedby ED5.Turf densitySeeded cultivars receiving the highestdensity ratings (number of shoots perunit area) were Princess, Sundance andSavannah. Other cultivars with significantlyhigher density than NuMexSahara included Sultan, Sunstar,Sundevil II, Mirage and ED1. Density ofTifway was significantly greater thanany seeded cultivars.ColorWe did not observe great differencesin genetic color among seededbermudagrass cultivars. Most differencesamong plots on any date of ratingscould be attributed to injury ordefoliation. Cultivars that grow moreupright, such as Arizona Common, havea greater tendency to scalp, which affectscolor. When comparing healthy leaves,differences among seeded cultivarsappear to be subtler. The color of Tifwayis different from seeded cultivars.continuedAvailability of the top cultivarsSources for the top three seeded bermudagrass cultivarsin our trials — Princess, Sundance and Savannah —acknowledge that breeding for turf quality often reducesseed yield.Seeds West Inc. reports the initial seed production ofPrincess was low. Only very limited seed was available in1998. Better availability is expected in 1999. Sultan,another noteworthy cultivar from the same company, ispresently available in good supply.Lesco informed us that seed yield of Sundance hadbeen unacceptable. Out of Sundance, Sundance II hasbeen selected for improved seed yield. We look forward toevaluating Sundance II’s turf quality beginning in 1999.Sunstar is commercially available from the same companyin good supply.Pure Seed Testing Inc. reports that the early yield ofSavannah has been encouraging. Supply is limited at presentbut should be good by 2000.R E S E A R C HGolf Course Management ■ November 1998 2