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Crop Science 42:190-192 (2002)
© 2002 Crop Science Society of America

TURFGRASS SCIENCE

Freeze Tolerance of Seed-Producing Turf Bermudagrasses

Jeffrey A. Anderson*,a and Charles M. Taliaferrob

a Dep. of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK 74078-6027
b Dep. of Plant and Soil Sciences, Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK 74078-6027

* Corresponding author (jander{at}okstate.edu)


   ABSTRACT
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., suffers periodic severe winter-kill throughout much of its area of use in the contiguous USA. A research goal is to increase freeze tolerance in cultivars to lessen the risk of such damage. An identified research need is for Cynodon germplasm resources to be characterized for freeze tolerance and hybridization potential. Accordingly, the objective of this research was to characterize the relative freeze tolerance of selected fertile bermudagrass plants. Nine tetraploid (2n = 4x = 36) C. dactylon and two triploid (2n = 3x = 27) hybrid (C. dactylon x C. transvaalensis Burtt Davy) clonal plants (standards) were evaluated in two experiments. Plants were propagated clonally and established in Cone-tainers (Ray Leach Cone-tainer Nursery, Canby, OR) for about 10 wk. Acclimation took place for 4 wk in controlled environment chambers at 8/2°C (day/night) temperatures with a 10-h photoperiod. Following acclimation, Cone-tainers were placed into a freeze chamber and cooled rapidly to -2°C, induced to freeze with ice chips, then held overnight at -2°C. The freeze chamber was then programmed to cool linearly at 1°C per hour. For each cultivar, three Cone-tainers were removed at each test temperature. Following thawing, Cone-tainers were transferred to a greenhouse and regrowth was evaluated visually. Nonlinear regression was used to estimate Tmid, which corresponded to the midpoint of the sigmoidal response curve of survival vs temperature. Within experiment one, Tifgreen (Tmid = -7.2°C) was significantly less cold hardy than Quickstand (-9.0°C), A-12204 (-9.2°C), Midiron (-9.9°C), and A-12195 (-10.5°C). A-12195 was significantly hardier than all genotypes except Midiron. In the second experiment, Arizona Common (-6.6°C), Tifgreen (-7.1°C), and A-12205 (-7.1°C) were less hardy than A-9959 (-8.7°C), A-12156 (-8.9°C), A-12198 (-9.5°C), and Midiron (-10.0°C). Midiron was hardier than all genotypes except A-12198. The range of test temperatures chosen did not allow estimate of a Tmid value for Zebra, but nearly 50% of the plants were killed at -6.0°C.


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
BERMUDAGRASS is widely distributed throughout the world between latitudes of about 45° N and 45° S (Harlan and de Wet, 1969). Consequently, there is much variation within the species for adaptation to different climatic and edaphic conditions (Harlan and de Wet, 1969; Harlan et al., 1970a,b). Bermudagrass plants vary greatly in response to freezing temperatures. Plants of tropical origin generally have little freeze tolerance, while those from temperate climates tolerate freezing temperatures much below 0°C (Ahring and Irving, 1969; Harlan and de Wet, 1969). Periodic severe winterkill of turf bermudagrass in the USA is well documented (Anderson et al., 1997; Fry, 1990; Gatschet et al., 1994a; Hiscock, 1996). Turf bermudagrass cultivars differ substantially in freeze tolerance (Beard et al., 1980; Anderson et al., 1993), but especially severe winters can kill varieties generally considered to exhibit good cold hardiness (Schaffer, 1994). A major goal of many bermudagrass improvement programs is the enhancement of freeze tolerance in cultivars as a means of reducing risk of winterkill. Several approaches to increasing freeze tolerance are being pursued. Traditional breeding is a viable means of capitalizing on existing natural variation, as exemplified by ‘Midiron’, ‘Midlawn’, and ‘Midfield’, all interspecific F1 hybrids of winter hardy C. dactylon and C. transvaalensis parents (Alderson and Sharp, 1994). Successful use has been made of mutagenic agents to enhance turf quality in cold hardy cultivars (Hanna, 1990; Hanna et al., 1997). Research efforts are also underway to determine molecular genetic mechanisms associated with bermudagrass cold tolerance (Anderson et al., 1998; Baird et al., 1998). Much of the basic cold hardiness bermudagrass research has used sterile triploid hybrids. An identified need of bermudagrass cold hardiness research is the identification of germplasm representing the approximate range of variation for the trait and having the capability of being intercrossed to produce segregating genetic populations. Accordingly, our objective was to characterize the relative cold hardiness of selected fertile bermudagrass plants (genotypes) known to vary in winter hardiness.


   MATERIALS AND METHODS
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Eleven clonal bermudagrass plants were evaluated for relative freeze tolerance (Table 1). The nine C. dactylon plants are tetraploids, which field observations suggested varied in cold hardiness over the approximate range found in nature. Though the clones vary greatly in fertility, all set some seed and can be intercrossed. The interspecific (C. dactylon x C. transvaalensis) sterile triploid hybrids, Midiron and Tifgreen, have been extensively evaluated in previous freeze tolerance experiments (Anderson et al., 1988, 1993; Gatschet et al., 1994b) and were included as standards. Because of space constraints in the freeze chamber, bermudagrasses were divided into two experiments. The first experiment included A-12195, Midiron, A-12204, Quickstand, Tifgreen, and Zebra. The second experiment included Midiron, A-12156, A-12198, A-9959, Tifgreen, A-12205, and Arizona Common. Plants were clonally propagated and established in Cone-tainers for about 10 wk. Acclimation took place in controlled environment chambers (model PGW36, Conviron, Ashville, NC) at 8/2°C (day/night) temperatures with a 10-h photoperiod for 4 wk. Cone-tainers were placed into a freeze chamber (model ST-50 T20-45, Sure-Temp, Raleigh, NC) and cooled rapidly to -2°C. Plants and soil were induced to freeze with ice chips, then held overnight at -2°C. The freeze chamber was then programmed to cool linearly at 1°C per hour after {approx}15 h at -2°C. The temperature of each Cone-tainer was monitored with a datalogger (model 21x, Campbell Scientific, Logan, UT) using a thermocouple inserted 2 cm into the medium at the center of each Cone-tainer. Thermocouple wires were attached to 3-mm-diam wooden stakes with perpendicular cross-pieces to ensure anchorage and accurate depth of the measuring junction. For each cultivar, three Cone-tainers were removed at each test temperature. Target temperatures (1°C intervals) covered a range anticipated to span the limits from complete survival to complete mortality. Cone-tainers were held overnight at {approx}4°C after removal from the freeze chamber. Following thawing, Cone-tainers were held in a greenhouse for 6 wk. Plant response to freezing stress was visually evaluated as regrowth, based on shoot emergence, growth, and development. Occasionally, weak shoots emerged from the Cone-tainers and died before the end of the 6-wk observation period. These shoots were not counted as viable. Each experiment was replicated on three dates. Data were fit to a nonlinear model (Anderson et al., 1988; Ingram, 1985) by the nonlinear regression procedure (SAS Institute, 1988) to estimate the midpoint (Tmid) of the sigmoidal response curve of survival vs temperature. Means within an experiment were separated by Duncan's New Multiple Range Test at P = 0.05 following analysis of variance using the general linear models procedure (SAS Institute, 1988).


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  		Table 1. Characteristics and origins of clonal bermudagrass plants assessed for relative freeze tolerance.

 

   RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
Cold hardiness of turf bermudagrasses ranged from -6.6°C (Arizona Common) to -10.5°C (A-12195). Within experiment one, Tifgreen was significantly less cold hardy than Quickstand, A-12204, Midiron, and A-12195 (Table 2). A-12195 was significantly hardier than all genotypes except Midiron. In the second experiment, Arizona Common, Tifgreen, and A-12205 were less cold hardy than A-9959, A-12156, A-12198, and Midiron. Midiron was hardier than all genotypes except A-12198 (Table 2). The range of test temperatures chosen did not allow estimate of a Tmid value for Zebra, but nearly 50% of the plants were killed at -6.0°C (data not presented), making this the least hardy of all bermudagrasses examined. Cold hardiness estimates of the check varieties, Tifgreen and Midiron, corresponded closely between experiments and with previous laboratory-based evaluations (Anderson et al., 1993) and field observations (Taliaferro et al., 1996). Even though the relative cold hardiness estimates correspond well with field observations of winterkill, Tmid values may not reflect absolute cold hardiness potential. Acclimation at different temperatures or durations may produce greater freeze tolerance than we observed following acclimation for 4 wk at 8/2°C. However, the wide range in freeze tolerance among the nine C. dactylon clones provides a basis for selecting plants of known relative hardiness for use in studies of inheritance and mechanisms of acclimation.


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  		Table 2. Freeze tolerance of turf bermudagrasses. Tmid values represent the midpoint of the sigmoidal response curve of survival vs. temperature.

 

   NOTES
TOP
 NOTES
ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 
Approved for publication by the Director, Okla. Agric. Exp. Stn. Research supported by the Okla. Agric. Exp. Stn. and the United States Golf Association.

Received for publication November 13, 2000.


   REFERENCES
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 




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J. A. Anderson, C. M. Taliaferro, and D. L. Martin
Longer Exposure Durations Increase Freeze Damage to Turf Bermudagrasses
Crop Sci., May 1, 2003; 43(3): 973 - 977.
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