Bermudagrass Cultivars Differ in Their Summer Traffic Tolerance and Ability to Maintain Green Turf Coverage Under Fall Traffic

Bermudagrass [Cynodon spp. (L.) Rich.] is one of the most widely used turfgrass species for golf courses and sports fields in the southern United States and in the transitional climatic zone. Continuous trafficking from play or equipment can reduce bermudagrass coverage and turf quality. This study evaluated 42 bermudagrass cultivars for their response to traffic. Traffic was applied in summer and fall of 2007 and 2008 with a Cady Traffic Simulator. There were several commercially available cultivars that had the highest coverage in both summers when trafficked including Barbados, Celebration, Contessa, Dune, Midlawn, Mirage II, Panama, Premier, Princess 77, Patriot, Riviera, Southern Star, Sovereign, Sundevil II, Sunsport, TifGrand, Tifsport, Tifway, Transcontinental, Veracruz, and Yukon. However, only the cultivars Barbados, Celebration, Contesssa, and Premier and the experimental genotypes SWI-1003, SWI-1046, Tift No. 1, and Tift. No. 2 were in the top statistical grouping for green turf coverage in both summer and fall of both years. These results demonstrate that bermudagrass cultivars vary in their response to traffic. Selecting improved, traffic-tolerant bermudagrasses will help reduce maintenance inputs and increase sustainability of golf courses and athletic fields while also producing a better-quality and safer surface for sports.