Genetic and Ploidy Variability Within Six Vegetatively Propagated Zoysiagrass Cultivars.

Zoysiagrass is used as a warm-season turfgrass for lawns, parks, and golfing surfaces in the warm-humid and transitional climatic regions of the United States. Zoysiagrass is an allotetraploid species (2n= 4x= 40) and some cultivars are known to easily self and cross-pollinate. Previous studies had shown that genetic variability exists in the vegetatively propagated cultivars Emerald and Diamond likely due to contamination (seed production) or mislabeling. To determine how widespread genetic variability within a vegetatively propagated zoysiagrass cultivar was, samples were collected from six popular zoysiagrass cultivars, Meyer, JaMur, Zeon, Empire, Emerald, and Diamond  from five states, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas. One university sample and two samples from sod farms were collected for each cultivar per state. Forty zoysiagrass SSR markers and flow cytometry were used to assess genetic variation of each collected sample to an original stock sample.  An assessment of genetic variability within a vegetatively propagated cultivar is useful as it may give insight into if management practices are sufficient or if mislabeling of cultivars is occurring.