Newell bermudagrass: a public release from the USDA cynodon collection

Authors: RIOS, ESTEBAN - University Of Florida; LOPEZ, YOLANDA - University Of Florida; MUNOZ, PATRICIA - University Of Florida; DUBEUX, JOSE - University Of Florida; VENDRAMINI, JOAO - University Of Florida; WALLAU, MARCELO - University Of Florida; GROSSMAN, ADINA - University Of Florida; Anderson, William - Bill; BAXTER, LISA - University Of Georgia; Harris-Shultz, Karen; CASTILLO, M - North Carolina State University; SAHA, M - Noble Research Institute; QUESENBERRY, K - University Of Florida; BLOUNT, A - University Of Florida; REITH, P - University Of Florida; KENWORTHY, K - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/21/2023
Publication Date: 8/30/2023
Citation: Rios, E.F., Lopez, Y., Munoz, P., Dubeux, J., Vendramini, J., Wallau, M., Grossman, A., Anderson, W.F., Baxter, L., Harris-Shultz, K.R., Castillo, M.S., Saha, M.C., Quesenberry, K., Blount, A., Reith, P., Kenworthy, K. 2023. Newell bermudagrass: a public release from the USDA cynodon collection. Journal of Plant Registrations. 17:605-615. https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20318.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20318

Interpretive Summary: Bermudagrass, besides being used as a turfgrass, is also used for grazing, hay, and silage. Most of the forage bermudagrass cultivars were released decades ago and new cultivars are needed with improved bermudagrass stem maggot resistance, establishment, herbage accumulation and greater nutritive value. The USDA core collection was phenotyped for bermudagrass stem maggot tolerance, nutritive value, and herbage accumulation over multiple locations, years, and management practices. One line, named 'Newell', produced high herbage accumulation in Citra, FL and Tifton, GA and had improved nutritive value, similiar bermudagrass stem maggot response, and faster establishment than Tifton 85. Newell is genetically unique to all the current forage bermudagrass cultivars grown and is available to producers.

Technical Abstract: Warm-season perennial grasses are the backbone of the pasture-based livestock industry in the southeastern USA, and bermudagrass is the most widely planted forage species covering approximately 15 million ha. The genus Cynodon is native to southern Africa and germplasm collections possess high genetic and phenotypic variability. The United States Department of Agriculture National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-NPGS) maintains a collection of bermudagrass plant introduction (PIs) in Griffin, GA, USA and USDA-ARS, Tifton, GA maintains additional germplasm. Multi-location trials were established in four states (FL, GA, NC and OK) to screen Cynodon germplasm for herbage accumulation (HA), nutritive value (NV) and bermudagrass stem maggot (BSM) (Atherigona reversura Villeneuve). Due to the large genotype by environment interaction for HA, we first focused on selecting accessions adapted to South Georgia and Florida, and further studies were performed in Florida. Several PIs showed improved HA and NV compared to ‘Tifton 85’. The PI 316510 produced high HA in Citra, FL and Tifton, GA, had improved NV traits, similar BSM response compared to Tifton 85, and faster establishment than Tifton 85. We confirmed PI 316510 is tetraploid (2n = 4x = 36) through chromosome counts and flow cytometry, and it is genetically distinct from the currently used commercial cultivars. The PI 316510 has been released under the name “Newell”.