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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Water Management and Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #420591
Research Project: Developing Sustainable Turfgrass Systems in the U.S. Southwest

Location: Water Management and Conservation Research

Title: Performance of turf bermudagrass hybrids with deficit irrigation in the Desert Southwest USA

Author
item Serba, Desalegn
item Hejl, Reagan
item WU, YANQI - Oklahoma State University
item Thorp, Kelly
item Conley, Matthew
item Williams, Clinton

Submitted to: Applied Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/8/2025
Publication Date: 8/20/2025
Citation: Serba, D.D., Hejl, R.W., Wu, Y., Thorp, K.R., Conley, M.M., Williams, C.F. 2025. Performance of turf bermudagrass hybrids with deficit irrigation in the Desert Southwest USA. Applied Sciences. 15(16):9151. https://doi.org/10.3390/app15169151.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app15169151

Interpretive Summary: Water scarcity has become a major problem in turf management around the world. Bermudagrass is the most popular warm season turfgrass due to its exceptional drought tolerance when compared to many other turfgrass species. With a diminishing water resources for turfgrass irrigation in the drought-stricken and hot desert Southwestern United States, choosing drought-resistant bermudagrass cultivars is the most important strategies for sustaining turfgrass industry in the region. A total of 48 turf bermudagrass hybrids, including two commercial cultivars, 'TifTuf' and 'Tifway', were tested under 80, 60, and 40 percent reference evapotranspiration replacement (ETo) irrigation during 2022 and 2023 growing seasons at Maricopa, AZ. A prevalence of genetic variation among the tested hybrids in response to deficit irrigation treatments was discovered through the analysis of two years data on density, visual turf color quality. This study demonstrates the potential for improving drought tolerance using the natural genetic variation available in the germplasm.

Technical Abstract: Water scarcity poses a substantial challenge for turfgrass irrigation in the drought and heat stressed Desert Southwest region of the United States. Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp), renowned for its exceptional drought resistance, is the predominant warm season turfgrass in the region. Selecting and using drought-resistant bermudagrass cultivars remains a primary strategy for sustaining the turfgrass industry in the region. This study evaluated 48 hybrid bermudagrasses (C. dactylon × C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy), including two commercial cultivars (‘TifTuf’ and ‘Tifway’, as controls) under 80% × ETo (0.8ET), 60% × ETo (0.6ET), and 40% × ETo (0.4ET) reference evapotranspiration (ETo) replacement irrigation at Maricopa, AZ. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with two replications, where the three irrigation treatments were assigned to main plots and 48 genotypes were in sub-plots. Analysis of data from two years (2022 and 2023) revealed significant differences among bermudagrass hybrids, irrigation treatments, and their interaction effects. The hybrids exhibited substantial variation for spring green up, density, turf color, and quality. With the largest deficit irrigation treatment 40% × ETo (0.4ET), OSU2104, OSU2106, and OSU2105 showed greater mean greenness and aesthetic quality scores than recorded for ‘TifTuf’ (6.5), a popular drought-resistant cultivar. The results highlight the prevalence of genetic variation in the germplasm with potential for development of improved drought-resistant varieties.