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Crop Science 42:975-977 (2002)
© 2002 Crop Science Society of America

NOTES

Freeze tolerance of bermudagrasses

Vegetatively propagated cultivars intended for fairway and putting green use, and seed-propagated cultivars

Jeff Anderson*,a, Charles Taliaferrob and Dennis Martina

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

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


   ABSTRACT
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
 Materials and Methods
 Results and Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
Bermudagrasses, Cynodon spp., periodically sustain winter injury in the transition zone between warm- and cool-season turfgrasses. Our objective was to determine relative freeze tolerance levels of advanced lines, recently released cultivars, and standard varieties by means of laboratory-based methodology. Freeze tolerance evaluations were divided into three groups on the basis of intended use. The vegetatively propagated fairway types (and their freeze tolerance values) included ‘GN-1’ (-5.9°C), ‘Baby’ (-6.7°C), ‘Tifway’ (-6.7°C), ‘TifSport’ (-7.2°C), ‘Quickstand’ (-8.0°C), and ‘Midlawn’(-8.4°C). GN-1 was significantly less hardy than TifSport, Quickstand and Midlawn. The second set of bermudagrasses comprised the seed-propagated varieties: ‘Arizona Common’ (-5.6°C), ‘Mirage’ (-6.1°C), ‘Jackpot’ (-6.3°C), ‘Guymon’ (-7.4°C), and ‘Yukon’ (-7.6°C). Arizona Common was significantly less freeze tolerant than Guymon and Yukon. Mirage and Jackpot were not significantly hardier than Arizona Common. The third series of plants included vegetatively propagated bermudagrasses used for putting greens: ‘Champion’ (-4.8°C), ‘Floradwarf’ (-4.9°C), ‘MS-Supreme’ (-5.2°C), ‘MiniVerde’(-5.8°C), ‘Tifeagle’ (-6.0°C), ‘Tifdwarf’ (-6.5°C), and ‘Tifgreen’ (-6.5°C). Tifdwarf and Tifgreen were significantly hardier than all of the other putting green bermudagrasses tested except for Tifeagle. Results should be useful in selecting appropriate genotypes for the transition zone of turfgrass adaptation.


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
Materials and Methods
 Results and Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
BERMUDAGRASSES GROWN IN THE transition zone between warm- and cool-season grasses are susceptible to winter injury (Fry, 1990; Hiscock, 1996). Bermudagrass germplasm improvement programs have identified improved winter survival as a priority. These breeding programs require rapid, reproducible means to evaluate freeze tolerance. Although cold winters probably supply the best indication of winter survivability, their occurrence is unpredictable and not reproducible. Therefore, our objective was to quantify freeze tolerance of advanced lines, recently released cultivars, and standard varieties using laboratory-based methodology. Standardized, quantitative information on tissue freeze tolerance is vital to scientists to track their progress in developing new cultivars. Freeze tolerance data are also beneficial to turfgrass managers selecting bermudagrasses for the transition zone.


   Materials and Methods
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 Materials and Methods
Results and Discussion
 REFERENCES
 
Bermudagrass cultivars were divided into three groups on the basis of intended use (Table 1). The vegetatively propagated golf course fairway types included GN-1, Baby, Tifway, TifSport, and Quickstand. Midlawn was included as a standard variety. The second set of bermudagrasses comprised the seed-propagated varieties: Arizona Common (standard), Mirage, Jackpot, Guymon, and Yukon. The third series of plants included vegetatively-propagated bermudagrasses used for putting greens: Champion, Floradwarf, MS-Supreme, MiniVerde, Tifeagle, Tifdwarf, and Tifgreen (standard).


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  		Table 1. Descriptions of bermudagrasses assessed for relative freeze tolerance.

 
All plants were clonally propagated in Cone-tainers (Ray Leach Cone-tainer Nursery, Canby, OR) except for the seeded group. Phytomers containing root, crown, and shoot material were used as clonal propagules. Seeded plants were each started from a single seed. Planting dates were staggered to allow uniform establishment periods. The potting medium (Universal Mix, Strong-lite, Pine Bluff, AR) was supplemented (g L-1) with dolomite (2.97), superphosphate (0.74), micromax (The Scotts Co., Marysville, OH) (0.45), KNO3 (0.59), and FeSO4·7H2O (0.24). Plants were watered daily with soluble fertilizer (Peters 20N-8.6P-16.6K, The Scotts Co.) at 0.7 g L-1 and trimmed with scissors as needed. Plants were established at 28°/24°C day/night temperatures for about 10 wk in a growth chamber (model PGW36, Conviron, Ashville, NC) with a 14-h photoperiod and a light intensity of 400 µmol m-2 s-1. After establishment, plants were acclimated at 8°/2°C day/night temperatures for 4 wk (Anderson et al., 1993). The 10-h photoperiod during acclimation had a light intensity of 350 µmol m-2 s-1. After shoots were cut off at Cone-tainer height, thermocouples attached to wooden stakes were inserted 2 cm into the medium at the center of the Cone-tainers to monitor individual temperatures with a datalogger (Campbell Scientific, Logan, UT). Plants were placed into a freeze chamber (model CEC23, Rheem Scientific, Asheville, NC) and cooled rapidly to -2.5°C. Plants and soil that supercooled were induced to freeze with ice chips, then samples were held overnight at -2.5°C. The freeze chamber was programmed to cool linearly at 1°C per hour after 15 h at -2.5°C. For each cultivar, four 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 4°C after removal from the freeze chamber. Following thawing, plant response to freezing stress was visually evaluated as regrowth in a growth chamber for 6 wk. Survival was based on shoot emergence, growth, and development. Weak shoots that died after emergence were not counted as viable. The Tmid values (midpoints of survival vs. temperature response curves) for each genotype were determined from nonlinear regression (Anderson et al., 1988; Ingram, 1985) on each of the three dates the experiment was conducted for each of the use groups (Fig. 1) . The one exception occurred when one of the replications in time of the fairway study became infested with insects and was discarded. Use groups were analyzed separately when significant differences in Tmid means were determined by Duncan's New Multiple Range Test at P <= 0.05 following ANOVA.



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  		Fig. 1. Freeze tolerance of Tifdwarf bermudagrass. The proportion of Cone-tainers with plants surviving at the indicated temperatures for a single repetition of the experiment is given by triangles. The fitted curve is based on the indicated nonlinear equation. The midpoint of the survival versus temperature curve, Tmid, (indicated by a star) was estimated by the nonlinear function.

 

   Results and Discussion
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 Materials and Methods
 Results and Discussion
REFERENCES
 
Data from the fairway study should be interpreted with caution since there were only two replications in time. If Tmid values represent true winter survival capacity, GN-1 (-5.9°C) will be at greater risk of freeze damage than TifSport (-7.2°C), Quickstand (-8.0°C), and Midlawn (-8.4°C) (Table 2). Baby (-6.7°C) and Tifway (-6.7°C) were not significantly hardier than GN-1.


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  		Table 2. Freeze tolerance of fairway, seeded, and putting green bermudagrasses. The Tmid values represent the midpoint of the survival-temperature response curve.

 
Among the seed-propagated bermudagrasses, Arizona Common (-5.6°C) was significantly less cold hardy than Guymon (-7.4°C) and Yukon (-7.6°C). Mirage (-6.1°C) and Jackpot (-6.3°C) were not significantly hardier than Arizona Common. Our laboratory results are consistent with field observations of winter-kill. Field plots of Mirage and Jackpot had significantly more winter-kill than Yukon at a 1.3-cm mowing height (Martin et al., 2001). Although we have not previously examined this combination of cultivars, Tmid values of some cultivars were lower (greater hardiness) in a previous study when plants were propagated clonally (Anderson et al., unpublished data). Although we did not compare seed vs clonal propagation, it is possible that the Tmid values of our recently seeded materials reflect the frequent field observation of greater susceptibility to winter injury the first season after establishment, than in later seasons (Philley and Krans, 1998). Greater mortality during the first winter after seeding may result from insufficient development of stolons (Munshaw et al., 2001) or rhizomes (Hensler et al., 1999), which may act as carbohydrate storage organs. Rhizomes developing at greater soil depths could be important in avoidance of freezing stress due to thermal buffering by soil. Physiological differences in acclimation between newly seeded and established bermudagrasses could be based on differences in stress protein induction.

Champion, Floradwarf, and MS Supreme were freeze-susceptible putting green types with Tmid values of about -5°C (Table 2). MiniVerde and Tifeagle had Tmid values of about -6°C, whereas Tifdwarf and Tifgreen were hardy to -6.5°C. Tifdwarf and Tifgreen were significantly hardier than all of the other putting green bermudas tested except for Tifeagle.

We observed a significant amount of variability in freeze tolerance comparing cultivars within a use category as well as between categories. Our laboratory-based results are in general agreement with field observations (NTEP, 2001). Varieties with colder Tmids from tissue-level testing tended to experience lower percentages of winter-kill in field plots. The levels of freeze tolerance we observed may not reflect maximum genetic potential since environmental conditions different from our acclimation chamber regime may induce a greater level of acclimation. It is also important to distinguish between tissue exposure temperatures, as presented here, and air temperatures that field plantings may be exposed to. Since crowns are below ground, their temperature will be moderated by the thermal buffering capacity of the soil environment. Results should be useful in selecting appropriate cultivars for the transition zone of turfgrass adaptation.


   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 March 28, 2001.


   REFERENCES
TOP
 NOTES
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 Materials and Methods
 Results and Discussion
 REFERENCES
 




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This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
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Right arrow Articles by Anderson, J.
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Right arrow Articles by Anderson, J.
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Right arrow Temperature Stress

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