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a Dallas Research and Extension Center, Texas Agric. Exp. Stn., 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX 75252-6599
b Dep. Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX 77843-2474
c Dep. of Plant Science, Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881
d Dep. of Plant Science, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0036
* Corresponding author (m-engelke{at}tamu.edu)
‘Cavalier’ (Reg. no. CV-212, PI 607829) zoysiagrass [Zoysia matrella (L.) Merr.] was released by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES), Texas A&M University System in July 1996. It has multiple stress resistance that includes cold hardiness, shade tolerance, salt tolerance, and resistance to several insects and diseases.
Cavalier is a vegetatively propagated cultivar of zoysiagrass collected in 1982 from the office grounds of the county government buildings near Ooneshima, on the southern island of Kyushu, Japan. It was a distinct ecotype growing within a native stand of segregating zoysiagrasses maintained as a lawn. This individual plant was weed free, denser and finer textured, and more uniform in appearance than the surrounding area. The accession was introduced into the USA through USDA-APHIS and USDA-ARS in 1982 and entered into the germplasm evaluation program in 1983. The genotype was identified as TAES 1999 and tested in replicated nurseries with approximately 700 other plant accessions from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines that were collected beginning in 1982. The experimental cultivar was selected for further evaluation in 1985, designated as DALZ8507, and intensely evaluated for turf qualities.
Cavalier ranked first in overall quality and performance in the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program trials (Morris and Shearman, 1996) over a 4-yr period (1992–1995) in 23 locations in 16 states ranging from California to Georgia and north to Nebraska. Cavalier is similar in appearance to ‘Tifway’ bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy]; however, it has greater winter hardiness and survivability under reduced management conditions. Cavalier is distinguished from other zoysiagrasses by its finer texture, longer and narrower leaves, lower rhizome production, and higher density stolon production. It is genetically stable (2n = 4x = 40), basically self-infertile, and vegetatively propagated. Cavalier is intermediate in growth rate and has reasonably good recuperative ability.
Cavalier has good to excellent salt tolerance. Under greenhouse conditions, Cavalier exhibited good-to-excellent salt tolerance compared to ‘Diamond’, ‘El Toro’, and ‘Emerald’ and had significantly better salt tolerance than ‘Meyer’ (Marcum et al., 1998). The salt tolerance of Cavalier would allow use of this grass in areas where poor quality water or effluent is used for irrigation.
Cavalier has long slender leaves and would be considered an intermediate water user according to data collected from the Linear Gradient Irrigation System at TAES, Dallas, TX. With or without irrigation, Cavalier ranked consistently with El Toro and ‘Palisades’ for persistence and ground cover (White et al., 1993). Cavalier has good-to-excellent shade tolerance. In low light intensity under live oak (Quercus virginiana Mill.) shade with incoming radiation of approximately 10% of full sunlight, Cavalier ranked 10th (72% cover) among 26 entries included in this study while Meyer (32% cover) ranked 21st (Morton et al., 1991; White and Engelke, 1990).
Cavalier is resistant to the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) (Reinert et al., 1997; Reinert et al., 1999), moderately resistant to the tropical sod webworm (Herpetogramma phaeopteralis Guenee) (Reinert and Engelke, 2001) and the tawny mole cricket (Scapteriscus vicinus Scudder) (Braman et al., 1994), and susceptible to the zoysiagrass mite (Eriophyes zoysiae Baker, Kona, and O'Neille) (Reinert et al., 1993). In contrast, Meyer (the current industry standard) is susceptible to each of these pests.
Even though Meyer expresses resistance to neonate fall armyworm, it is susceptible to later instars. Cavalier has excellent resistance to the fall armyworm, regardless of the stage of insect development (Reinert et al., 1994). It also demonstrated excellent resistance to neonate larvae and exhibited adult nonpreference for egg deposition of the tropical sod webworm (Reinert and Engelke, 2001). After 15 d of feeding, webworm larval were very small (7.2 mg) compared with same age larvae feeding on Meyer (36.4 mg), and it took nearly 11 d longer for surviving larvae to emerge as adults on Cavalier than on Meyer.
In inoculation studies with 18 zoysiagrasses, Cavalier was resistant to Rhizoctonia blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn (Colbaugh et al., 1994; Metz et al., 1994). In other tests with 40 genotypes, Cavalier was moderately resistant to the blight caused by Pythium aphanidermatum (Edson) Fitzpatrick (Colbaugh and Engelke, 1993; Colbaugh et al., 1994). The multiple insect and disease resistance present in Cavalier should help reduce the need for pesticide applications.
Cavalier is suitable for use in home lawns, golf course fairways and tee boxes, parks, sports fields, and other recreational areas. Several golf course architects have identified Cavalier as the future grass of choice for golf course fairways in the cool-season/warm-season transition zone. Typical of the finer-textured zoysiagrasses, Cavalier has excellent fall color retention and is significantly better than Meyer, and El Toro. Z. matrella germplasm generally will retain more green leaf tissue than Z. japonica Steud. during fall and early winter months, and Z. matrella is typically more sensitive to winter injury. In contrast, Cavalier has consistently demonstrated good to excellent winter hardiness in regional and national trials and is quite suitable for use as golf course fairways, tees, and more specifically, home lawns throughout the Midwest to mid-Atlantic states and across the southern USA. The production cycle is similar to Meyer; however, its water use, disease and insect resistance, and general turf quality is highly superior to Meyer.
DNA fingerprint analysis places Cavalier as an intermediate between definitive (type specimen) forms of Z. matrella, Z. pacifica Goudsw., and Z. japonica, and suggests that Cavalier is an interspecific hybrid. The majority of morphological characters of Cavalier fall within the range of variation for Z. matrella; thus the cultivar has been classified as a Z. matrella (Anderson, 2000). Cavalier zoysiagrass was released for Certified commercial production in July 1996. Only Certified planting stock will be sold in the wholesale or retail market.
The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Dallas, TX, will maintain Breeder stock. Only Foundation, Registered, and Certified classes of sod are recognized for Cavalier. All Certified production must be directly from Registered, Foundation or Breeder stock.
U.S. Plant Patent No. 10788 was issued for Cavalier on 2 Feb. 1999. Vegetative propagules of Cavalier are available from the author for research purposes, including development and commercialization of new cultivars or germplasms.
NOTES
The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station developed Cavalier with partial funding from the U.S. Golf Association. Registration by CSSA.
Accepted for publication July 31, 2001.
REFERENCES
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