Tolerance of Five Bermudagrass Cultivars to Simulated Wear.

Tolerance of Five Bermudagrass Cultivars to Simulated Wear. Philipe C. F. Aldahir, J. Scott McElroy.

ABSTRACT

Hybrid bermudagrasses (Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis) are the turfgrasses of choice for athletic fields in the southern USA due to their aggressive growth, wear tolerance, and recuperative ability. However, many bermudagrass fields experience a decline in cover and playability during intense fall sports seasons. In addition, athletic fields are often multiuse facilities and must accommodate other non-sportive events, further exacerbating the need for rapid recover. This study evaluated the tolerance of five hybrid bermudagrass cultivars (‘Tifway’, ‘Patriot’, ‘Celebration’, ‘TifGrand’, and ‘TifSport’) to simulated, athletic type wear. Research was conducted at Auburn University Turfgrass Research Unit, in Auburn, Alabama for 10 weeks in 2011 from August to November. Athletic type wear was simulated with a Cady Traffic Simulator at 0 (control), 1, 3, and 5 NFL games per week. Turfgrass green cover, and surface shear strength were measured over time. Simulated wear reduced Celebration green cover greater than all other cultivars. Patriot and Tifway green cover was reduced less from wear than Celebration, but more than TifGrand and TifSport. When comparing simulated game frequencies, one game per week remained at the greatest green cover level compared to all other frequencies. No interaction between simulated game frequency and cultivar was observed in this experiment. Surface shear strength for Patriot was the least between all cultivars throughout the 10 weeks of the experiment. After 6 weeks until the 10^th week, Celebration had greater shear strength than Patriot, but less than TifGrand, TifSport and Tifway. In weeks 9 and 10, Celebration had the same shear strength than all other cultivars, except for Patriot. At this point, the lower temperatures may have hardened the soil, a key component in surface shear strength.