Genetics and Bermudagrass: It's Not Easy Uniformly Green

摘要

Golfers and golf course superintendentsexpect a lot from theirputting greens. They want fine,lush, carpetlike surfaces that a ball willroll smoothly across. They also want agrass that tolerates frequent low mowing,has uniform color and texture, toleratespests and cold temperatures, and offersa dense canopy that shades out weeds tominimize the need for herbicides.Southern putting greens are made upof single cultivars of bermudagrass, butgolf course superintendents have complainedfor years about the appearanceof nonuniform plants, or “off-types,” thatcan throw off the green’s appearance and“playability.” The bermudagrass cultivarTifgreen, released in 1956, launched theera of high-quality, vegetatively propagatedturfgrasses, but has also led to problemswith the appearance of off-types onputting greens. Off-types can be causedby bermudagrass weeds or mutation ofthe cultivar. Mowing as well as birds andother natural phenomena increase the riskof weeds appearing on putting greens.Herbicides, ultraviolet light in sunlight,and errors during normal DNA replicationcan also induce mutations in the grassitself. The resulting inconsistencies havecost golf courses and sod farms millionsof dollars over the years, forcing them tokill and reestablish entire greens.