Development of ‘Latitude 36' Turf Bermudagrass.

Interspecific turf bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy] cultivars, as major commercially used growing materials in the southern United States and many other warmer countries, have produced extremely aesthetic and uniform turf for golf courses, sports fields, private lawns, and public grounds. Development of new cultivars with significantly improved turf quality, cold hardiness, sod tensile strength and other target traits will enhance the economic, ecological and biological contributions of bermudagrass to the turf industry. Here we report the release of a new turf-type, vegetatively propagated bermudagrass cultivar, Latitude 36 (C. dactylon x C. transvaalensis) in 2010 by the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station. Before its release, Latitude 36 was tested as OKC 1119 in the 2007 National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) National Bermudagrass Test. Latitude 36 is an F1 hybrid (2n=3x=27) from a cross of Cynodon dactylon accession A12198 (2n=4x=36) x C. transvaalensis OSU selection ‘2747’ (2n=2x=18). Latitude 36 has been evaluated in several OSU experiments, and more extensively at multi-locations in the NTEP 2007 National Bermudagrass Test. The major strengths of Latitude 36 are its exceptional turf quality, fine texture, improved winter hardiness, high sod density, and very good sod tensile strength. The combined performance data indicate it has less risk of winter injury than ‘Tifway’, while providing higher or equal turf quality. Compared to ‘Midlawn’, its turf quality is much improved. Latitude 36 is also better than Midlawn in sod tensile strength, a major consideration for sod growers. Latitude 36 is being distributed by Sod Solutions, Inc., South Carolina.