turf talk
Off-Type Grasses
in Bermudagrass Putting Greens By Eric H. Reasor, Graduate Student, and James T. Brosnan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Weed Science, University of Tennessee
The
history and development of bermudagrass cultivars used on putting greens is much different than you might imagine. Before the 1940s, common bermudagrass was typically used on putting greens throughout the southern United States. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, traditional breeding techniques yielded some of the first hybrid bermudagrass cultivars used on putting greens. These included Tiflawn in 1942, Tiffine in 1949, and Tifgreen in 1956. Similar to cultivars like Tifway, Tiffine and Tifgreen were hybrids between common bermudagrass and African bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis). These cultivars were selected out of hundreds of crosses based
on fine texture, dark color and tolerance of low mowing heights. Tifgreen was a popular cultivar, and it was widely established throughout the southern and transition zones. Genetic testing and DNA amplification fingerprinting has also shown Tifgreen to be 18 times less genetically stable than Tifway bermudagrass. Due to its widespread establishment and inherent genetic instability, off-type grasses began appearing in Tifgreen plantings soon after its release. These off-type grasses exhibited different morphological and functional characteristics compared to Tifgreen. Several of these grasses showed superior characteristics to Tifgreen, and some were later selected and released as commercial cultivars. Tifdwarf was the first off-type
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selected from a vegetative mutation of Tifgreen. After its release in 1964, it quickly become popular in the southern U.S. due to a darker green color and finer texture compared to Tifgreen. Other cultivars selected from vegetative mutations of Tifgreen include Floradwarf, MS-Supreme, Pee Dee-102, Novatek and Premier. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the “ultradwarf � bermudagrasses emerged. Champion was selected in 1987, and MiniVerde was selected in 1992, both from a vegetative mutation of Tifdwarf plantings. Similarly to the selection of Tifdwarf from Tifgreen, Champion and MiniVerde showed superior color and texture characteristics compared to Tifdwarf. RJT and Emerald Dwarf were also selections from Tifdwarf.
Off-type grasses in ultradwarf bermudagrass putting greens.
TENNESSEE TURFGRASS october/november 2015 Email TTA at: tnturfgrassassn@aol.com