TURFGRASS VARIETY

DEMONSTRATION

Victoria Botanical Garden, City of Victoria, Cooperators

Joe D. Janak, Victoria C.E.A.

Kevin Davis, Victoria C.E.A.

SUMMARY:

Sixteen turfgrass varieties were planted from February 28 - March 7, 1997. By March 17, 1997 all sodded varieties were beginning to green up in varying stages of growth. The seeded Texas Bluegrass 90-16-1 emerged with a very poor stand and did not compete with the weeds resulting in a plot that will be replanted.

In the first year's review of the grasses performance grown in full sun, the Zoysiagrass varieties appeared to have the highest overall appearance with Cavalier and JaMur rating the best. Floratam St. Augustine was the next highest rated grass followed by 609 Buffalograss and then the bermudagrasses.

From August through December, Floratam St. Augustine rated the highest score on appearance (95 out of a possible 100) out of all grasses. These results are the average of subjective ratings presented by 12 different Master Gardener volunteers.

PROBLEM:

Local homeowners and businesses with turfgrass in their landscapes have expressed numerous concerns about problems with diseases and suspected insect pressures causing partial or complete losses of their turfgrass. Numerous turfgrass varieties are available for the home lawns and commercial turfs but none are evaluated locally so recommendations must be made on trials made hundreds of miles away. Turfgrass losses can be expensive and solutions to these problems need to be found.

OBJECTIVES:

To evaluate the characteristics and adaptability of numerous types of turfgrasses for home and commercial lawns.

MATERIALS/METHODS:

Fifteen turfgrasses were planted by sod and one was planted by seed between February 28 and March 7, 1997. Prior to planting, the existing turfgrass was sprayed with Roundup to kill vegetation. Seven to ten days after spraying, the soil was tilled with a rotor tiller and 2-3 inches of compost was incorporated over each site along with 5 pounds of a complete fertilizer such as 10-20-10 applied per 100 square feet. Plots were approximately 800 square feet and were leveled prior to planting. Sods were laid out end to end, rolled and watered immediately.

The seed of Texas Bluegrass 90-16-1 was mixed half and half with peat moss to aid in planting and was broadcast at the rate of 10 pounds of seed per 1000 square feet. It is slow to germinate so frequent irrigations were applied for the first 30 days after planting.

Additionally, five of the same sixteen varieties were planted under heavily shaded turf areas to evaluate them for shade tolerance. These included: Palisade Zoysiagrass, Crowne Zoysiagrass, El Toro Zoysiagrass, Palmetto St. Augustine Grass, Floratam St. Augustine Grass and Raleigh St. Augustine Grass.

Varieties are monitored nearly every month for growth rate, color, beauty, and heat, disease and insect tolerance by Victoria County Master Gardener volunteers.

RESULTS/DISCUSSIONS:

All sodded turfgrasses began to grow vertically and exhibit green leaves to some extent within 10 days of planting. The bermudagrasses, namely the Baby Bermudagrass, then 419 Tifway Bermudagrass and Emerald Zoysiagrass followed by Palmetto St. Augustine Grass exhibited the greenest color within two weeks of planting.

Overall appearance ratings of the turfgrasses grown in full sun awarded Cavalier and JaMur Zoysiagrass the best after the first year's review although the last five months showed slightly different results. The last five months growth rated Floratam St. Augustine - 95%, Crowne - 94%, JaMur Zoysiagrass -93% followed in appearance by Palisade - 93% and Cavalier - 92% (See Table 2).

Of the turfgrasses grown in full shade, Palmetto and Floratam St. Augustine performed the best, 80 and 77 respectfully, but both below their full sun ratings (See Table 1).

In the full sun site at the end of a six month review, the turfgrasses with the greatest turf density include: JaMur - 98 %, Floratam - 97%; Cavalier - 95%, 609 Buffalograss - 92%, Palisade - 90% and Emerald - 89%. Weed pressure was highest in the Texas Bluegrass which never really established, followed by Raleigh - 30% (due to dead turfgrass), Prairie Buffalograss - 23%, Stampede Buffalograss - 20%, 419 Tifway Bermudagrass -18% and Baby Bermudagrass - 16%. Major weeds listed for each grass type St. Augustine - Common Bermudagrass, Buffalograss - Nutsedge and broadleafs, and Bermudagrasses - Nutsedge.

Diseases were minimal except for Raleigh St. Augustine which was suspected to have "Take All Patch" disease and nearly totally killed the entire stand. Brown Patch disease did appear in the Floratam in December affecting one-third of the plot but caused only a little yellow discoloration. The disease, "Gray Leaf Spot" was suspected to cause noticeable leaf spots on Palmetto St. Augustine during June - August, with some "Take all Patch" suspected also. Although minimal, Cavalier Zoysiagrass does exhibit some leaves dying within the turf apparently due to disease or stress. Other varieties showed minimal or no problems.

Table 1. Turfgrass variety demonstration evaluation of overall appearance in full shade. Victoria Master Gardeners, Victoria County, TX 1997. Scale is 0 - 100, with 100 = Excellent

VARIETY	APR.	MAY	JUNE	AUG.	SEPT.	OCT.	DEC.	AVG.
FULLY SHADED SITE
ST. AUGUSTINE
PALMETTO	80	83	61	57	92	94	90	80
FLORATAM	50	74	58	85	91	96	83	77
RALEIGH	60	81	49	55	87	89	84	72
ZOYSIAGRASS
EL TORO	60	77	75	40	33	58	43	55
PALISADE	80	93	68	40	28	48	43	57
CROWNE	60	85	63	40	28	54	43	53
BLUEGRASS
TX BLUEGRASS 90-16-1	-	17	4	1	8	5	1	6

In both the shaded and full sun plots the El Toro was weak and weedy for the first month or two. this was possibly due to the grass blocks falling apart into pieces when unloaded from the pallet at planting whereas others stayed together.

In comparing these evaluations between these grass types, it must be remembered that St. Augustine grasses typically stay green or semi-green in the winter while both the Bermudagrasses and the Buffalograsses do dormant and will not be green but appear tan/brown like dry leaves. In evaluating these grasses, the Victoria Master Gardeners rated the dormant grasses lower than the green grasses due to the lack of green color even though they were very nice turfs. This is due to Victoria homeowners normally associating with a green turn even in the winter, whereas north of Victoria such as in Austin, a dormant lawn is more common. See Table 2 for a general drop in scores for the December month.

Table 2. Turfgrass variety demonstration evaluation of overall appearance in full sun. Victoria Master Gardeners, Victoria County, TX 1997. SCALE is 0 - 100, with 100 = Excellent

VARIETY	APR.	MAY	JUNE	AUG.	SEPT.	OCT.	DEC.	AVG
FULL SUN SITE
ST. AUGUSTINE
PALMETTO	66	82	44	30	82	65	85	65
FLORATAM	53	50	81	93	96	95	97	78
RALEIGH	54	64	93	66	18	18	3	38
ZOYSIAGRASS
EL TORO	36	40	69	64	73	85	84	69
EMERALD	75	94	83	65	88	91	90	84
CAVALIER	60	90	85	100	87	89	92	86
JAMUR	57	90	86	97	94	93	88	86
PALISADE	53	83	86	95	93	92	90	85
CROWNE	47	70	89	93	94	95	94	83
BUFFALOGRASS
609	71	90	68	57	81	91	88	78
STAMPEDE	61	72	31	55	80	80	78	85
PRAIRIE	57	50	56	70	72	77	76	83
BERMUDAGRASS
QUICKSTAND	64	70	54	87	84	82	90	75
419 TIFWAY	71	70	54	75	84	81	90	75
BABY	64	74	59	80	85	80	85	75
BLUEGRASS
TX BLUEGRASS 90-16-1	10	13	1	0	0	0	1	4

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS & IMPACT:

Establishing a turfgrass around a home or business is a major investment and selection of the correct variety can mean savings, pleasure and appeal to the owner for years to come.

CONCLUSION:

This is just the beginning of this evaluation and data that will be generated will be of tremendous value to homeowners and businesses for many years. According to the first year's evaluations of these 16 turfgrasses, there are some differences that are unique for certain grass families as well as varieties. Selection of a well adapted pest free turfgrass will add years of trouble free, high aesthetic value landscape and pleasure to your environment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

Appreciation is expressed to contributing turfgrass farms listed on the next pages for donating the many varieties of sod and seed for this demonstration. Special thanks to the Victoria Botanical Garden and its officers for furnishing this site, turfgrass shipment expenses and guidance in establishing this demonstration. Donation of rotary tillers from Mr. and Mrs. Allan Kovar, Albert Totah, and Beverly Arnold made soil preparation possible. The City of Victoria helped tremendously through coordination by Doug Cochran and by use of various equipment and help from Parks Department employees. The Victoria Extension Service Master Gardeners, Friends of the Victoria Botanical Garden, and the Community Service Restitution Workers and the Inmate Work Program all contributed hundreds of hours towards establishment and maintenance. Thanks to Bobby Hoffman for coordinating planting and the Extension Service Horticulture Committee as well as Victoria Parks People, Inc for assisting and partially funding turfgrass transportation fees. Thanks to Earth Works Nursery for use of their sod cutter machine.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE

TURFGRASSES PLANTED AT THE VICTORIA BOTANICAL GARDEN

SPRING 1997

(Not listed in any order)

ST. AUGUSTINE GRASSES - Generally mowed at 2 inch height every 5-7 days and fertilized with 1 - 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year.

RALEIGH - Donated by Midway Grass Farms, Inez, TX. 77968, Phone 512-576-6683.

Released from North Carolina Experiment Station in 1980 as a cold tolerant grass, it is resistant to St. Augustine Decline (SAD) disease. It is finer texture than Floratam and develops a dense turf much like the Texas Common strain of St. Augustine grass. Raleigh is also more shade tolerant than Floratam. It is not resistant to lawn chinch bugs.

FLORATAM - Donated by Milberger Turfgrass, P.O. Box 350 Bay City, TX 77404-0350. Phone 409-245-2655.

Floratam was released by Florida and Texas Agricultural Experiment Stations in 1972 as a SAD virus and chinch bug resistant selection. It is a vigorous, coarse textured variety with purple stigma color and is sterile. Stolons are large, purplish-red in color with internodes averaging 3 inches in length. Leaf blades are wider and longer than Common St. Augustine. It is not as cold tolerant as Common and lacks shade tolerance. It is the most drought tolerant of the St. Augustines.

PALMETTO - Donated by Milberger Turfgrass, P.O. Box 350 Bay City, TX 77404-0350. Phone 409-245-2655.

Palmetto offers more consistent dark green color over a given area without the shades of yellow and/or pale green than any other St. Augustine grass. It is a semi-dwarf, giving it a plush appearance similar to Seville and Delmar but Palmetto is less prone to become thatchy, even in full sunlight. Leaf width is similar to Raleigh and finer than Floratam. When mowed high (3-4 inches) it is often mistaken for fescue. The leaf blades are tapered at the tip with a rounded end, and are soft to the touch, unlike the prickly feel of Floratam. Palmetto's vertical growth rate is less than Floratam and it will stay green longer than any other St. Augustine Grass giving it a semi-evergreen growth state in the winter in southern zones. Spring green-up is 2-3 weeks earlier than Floratam. It endures drought as well or better than any other St. Augustine grass. Shade tolerance is exceptional and it was developed specifically for this condition. Palmetto is very cold tolerant to below 10 degrees. Disease tolerance is superior although Gray leaf Spot and Brown Patch have been detected in Palmetto. St. Augustine Decline (SAD) has not been detected in Palmetto.

SEVILLE - (Not planted on the site yet)

Seville was released by O.M. Scott and Sons Co. in 1980 as a SAD resistant and chinch bug tolerant variety. It is much finer textured than Floratam, but it too lacks the necessary cold tolerance to extend its area of adaptation beyond the southern boundaries of the Gulf Coast.

ZOYSIA GRASSES - Generally mowed at 1.5 inch height every 5 days, scalped in the spring after green-up fertilized with 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year.

JAMUR - Donated by David Doguet of Bladerunner Farms, 400 Barrett Lane, Austin, TX 78733, Phone 512-328-2014.

JaMur is a new variety of zoysiagrass introduced by Bladerunner Farms in recent years. It is a japonica type with medium to coarse leaf texture. It is aesthetically pleasing with blue-green color and looks similar to a dwarf St. Augustine. JaMur is a fast growing zoysiagrass and can be grown in from plugs on 12 inch centers in about 4-5 months. It can be mowed with a reel or a sharp bladed rotary mower. JaMur has substantial insect and disease resistance and can be used on all types of soil conditions. It is a low water user and recovers quickly from dry conditions. Cold tolerance is good and it tolerates light to medium shade.

EL TORO - Donated by Thomas Brothers Farms, 230 Payne Road, Wharton, TX 77488, Phone 409-532-1544.

El Toro zoysiagrass is highly resistant to insects and diseases. It is a medium to fine texture Zoysiagrass which has proven itself to be very drought, shade and wear tolerant. It can be used in golf fairways and tees as well as home and commercial lawns. Its medium fine texture gives it an appearance of a mini St. Augustine grass. El Toro is more cold hardy than Bermudagrass and in most cases remains green after Bermudagrass goes dormant. El Toro has proven itself all across Texas for more than 8 years.

EMERALD - Donated by Milberger Turfgrass, P.O. Box 350 Bay City, TX 77404-0350. Phone 409-245-2655.

Emerald zoysiagrass is a fine leafed, dense growing and dark green turfgrass released by Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station in 1955. It has good cold tolerance but is a finer bladed grass than Meyer Z-52 Zoysia. It should be mowed weekly with a reel type or a sharp bladed rotary mower. Emerald is very drought tolerant as the stolons grow underground which helps in cold tolerance. Once established with a dense turf, it is highly weed resistant and wear resistant. It stays green longer in the fall after frosts than bermudagrass and can grow in moderate shade.

PALISADE - Donated by Dr. Milton Engleke, Professor and Plant Breeder, Texas Ag. Experiment Station, Texas A&M University Research and Extension Center, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX 75252-6599.

Palisade zoysiagrass is a medium-coarse textured grass with high visual quality. It is noted for its rapid establishment and regrowth. Good fall color is one of its attributes and it is also shade tolerant and salt tolerant. It is both cold hardy and will tolerate the heat during the summers. Mowing height is recommended at 3/8 inch to 2 inches.

CROWNE - Donated by Dr. Milton Engleke, Professor and Plant Breeder, Texas Ag. Experiment Station, Texas A&M University Research and Extension Center, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX 75252-6599.

Crowne zoysiagrass is a medium-coarse textured grass with high visual quality. It is noted for its rapid establishment and regrowth. Good fall color is one of its attributes and it is also shade tolerant and salt tolerant. It is both cold hardy and will tolerate the heat during the summers. Mowing height is recommended at 3/8 inch to 2 inches.

CAVALIER - Donated by Dr. Milton Engleke, Professor and Plant Breeder, Texas Ag. Experiment Station, Texas A&M University Research and Extension Center, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX 75252-6599.

Cavalier zoysiagrass is a fine leaf textured grass with high visual quality. It is shade tolerant and salt tolerant and resistant to several insects including the Tropical Sod Webworm, Fall Armyworm, and Tawny Mole Cricket. It is also resistant to two diseases including Pythium Blight and Rhizoctonia Blight. Cavalier spreads by stolons, has a good genetic color and does turn brown with frosts.

BUFFALOGRASS - Generally mowed at 1.5 - 3.5 inch height every 7-14 days and fertilized with 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year.

PRAIRIE BUFFALOGRASS - Donated by Dr. Milton Engleke, Professor and Plant Breeder, Texas Ag. Experiment Station, Texas A&M University Research and Extension Center, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX 75252-6599.

Prairie Buffalograss is a uniform, fine-textured, dense buffalograss with an attractive blue-green color in the growing season and an attractive winter dormant color. It is cold, heat and drought resistant requiring a lower water requirement than most grasses. It also has a lower fertilization requirement. Prairie buffalograss is propagated vegetatively and has a broad area of adaption although will not thrive in shaded areas. It spreads faster than any other buffalograss and will attain a mature unmowed height of 4-6 inches but is optimumly mowed at 1.5-2 inches. Mature, fully established and properly managed, it will be competitive with weeds including bermudagrass. It initiates spring growth 2-3 weeks earlier and has considerably better frost tolerance than turf-type bermudagrasses. Prairie is recommended a minimal maintenance turfgrass for roadsides, parks, and non-irrigated landscapes sites. It was released in 1989 by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.

609 BUFFALOGRASS - Donated by Crenshaw & Doguet Turfgrass, Inc. P.O. Box 950 Bastrop, TX. 78602, Phone 1-800-419-9273.

609 Buffalograss is a blue-green, dense, fine-textured stoloniferous turf. It is propagated vegetatively by sod, sprigs, or plugs. It produces a more dense, and richer, deeper blue-green color than Prairie Buffalograss. Its salt tolerance is moderate and can be mowed at a height of 1-4 inches. It has improved frost tolerance and green up 3 weeks earlier than Prairie. Hot weather tolerance is excellent as well as wear resistance. It does have a low shade tolerance, moderate winter dormancy and good recovery from injury.

STAMPEDE BUFFALOGRASS - Donated by Crenshaw & Doguet Turfgrass, Inc. P.O. Box 950 Bastrop, TX. 78602, Phone 1-800-419-9273.

Stampede Buffalograss is a semi-dwarf variety of Buffalograss that is native to Texas. It exhibits all the drought tolerance and disease resistance common to the other buffalograsses. Low growing height enables Stampede to remain attractive with even less mowing than other varieties of turfgrass. It has an attractive kelly green color and is the most dense of the vegetative buffalograss varieties available. It can tolerate as little as four hours of sun per day but prefers sunny sites.

BERMUDAGRASSES - Generally mowed at 1 inch height every 3 -5 days and fertilized with 4-6 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year.

BABY BERMUDAGRASS - Donated by David Doguet of Bladerunner Farms, 400 Barrett Lane, Austin, TX 78733, Phone 512-328-2014.

Baby is a semi-dwarf variety of bermudagrass. Its unique characteristic is the ability for rapid establishment with rooting and rate of spread, while being very tiny or dwarf-like. Baby is very dense without a lot of thatch. It keeps its green color longer than the standard 419 Tifway. It seems to grow better than 419 Tifway in hot conditions and have less cold problems than 419 Tifway. Baby is unique in having very low maintenance characteristics with hybrid quality. Baby can be used on home lawns, commercial sites, and particularly golf courses and sports fields. It has been at the top of the National Turf Trails for the last few years.

419 TIFWAY - Donated by Milberger Turfgrass, P.O. Box 350 Bay City, TX 77404-0350. Phone 409-245-2655.

419 Tifway Bermudagrass is grayish green in color and medium fine in texture. It has excellent weed and disease resistance, spreads faster than 328 Tifgreen and is superior to 328 Tifgreen and Tiflawn for fairways, tees, athletic fields and similar uses. When cut ½ - 2 inches in height, 419 Tifway provides an excellent impact absorbing cushion on playing fields. Its shade tolerance is low and salt tolerance is very good. It is dormant during the winter and exhibits excellent hot weather tolerance and recovery from injury.

QUICKSTAND - Donated by Milberger Turfgrass, P.O. Box 350 Bay City, TX 77404-0350. Phone 409-245-2655.

Quickstand Bermudagrass was selected from a native stand of bermudagrass at the Plant Materials Center in Quicksand, Kentucky, in 1980 and was jointly released in 1993 by the USDA - National Resource Conservation Service, The University of Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station, and the USDA-ARS. Its ability to spread rapidly helps it to tolerate closer mowing for intensive traffic use, while its vigorous growth makes it an appropriate choice for conservation uses such as reclaimed soils, areas with restrictive soil conditions, and filter strips for waste water treatment. Quickstand goes dormant in the winter and has low shade tolerance. It has excellent salt tolerance and can be mowed from 3/4 - 2 inches in height. It has excellent recovery from injury and has uses for lawns, golf courses, sports fields, and erosion control.

TEXAS BLUEGRASS - Typically not recommended in the Victoria Area. Generally mowed at a 3 inch height every 7 days.

TEXAS BLUEGRASS 90-16-1 - Donated by Dr. James Read, Professor and Plant Breeder, Texas Ag. Experiment Station, Texas A&M University Research and Extension Center, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX 75252-6599.

Texas Bluegrass 90-16-1 is a cross between the native Texas Bluegrass and Kentucky Bluegrass. Kentucky Bluegrass is the most widely planted turfgrass in the United States (but not Texas).

The adaptability to the Victoria area is unknown! It does stay green all year long in the Dallas area and does have very good cold tolerance. It spreads by short one inch long rhizomes and may take one year to cover when plugged 6 inches apart. It has no stolons. Seed production occurs only in April and is not a problem when mowed often. Seed is slow to germinate and the plants have poor seedling vigor. It will grow up to 24 inches if left unmowed.

The leaf texture is classified as medium and is best mowed with a reel-type mower but can look good if mowed with a sharp bladed rotary mower. It looks best when cut at the 2 inch height.

Texas Bluegrass 90-16-1 is anticipated to be moderately tolerant to shade, probably less so than the St. Augustine varieties. It probably needs about 40 percent sunlight. It is not salt tolerant but is not favored by lawn grubworms. Spring leaf diseases such as Helminthosporium and Rust may need to be controlled with a broad spectrum fungicide. It does require summer moisture but is less demanding than St. Augustine. It is similar to Common Bermudagrass in water requirements but will not go dormant due to drought and will die without water.