New turf bermudagrass varieties promise superior quality and adaptation for fields.
Turfgrass experts at Oklahoma State University wanted to identify different types of bermudagrass on their baseball field and three experimental clones. They used genetic markers to compare the plants and found that the bermudagrass on the field was the same as 'Astro-DLM' bermudagrass. The three experimental clones were unique from each other and other tested varieties, showing they are new breeding lines. These findings suggest that the bermudagrass on the field and the experimental clones have the potential to become new turfgrass varieties if they prove to be high-quality and well-suited for the environment.