“Beware of false marketing and understand the data!”
There is no doubt that new genetics are starting to completely change the turf world and the industry is seeing grasses that can do “more for less”, they are prettier, use less water and nutrients and so on.
According to Dr Gregg Munshaw (Pinnacle Ag Research’s Chief Scientist & Director of Agronomy from the United States) genetics is the next great avenue to provide better turf varieties and plants that require fewer inputs, such as water and fertiliser!
With the changing climate Gregg stressed that drought tolerant turf varieties were becoming increasingly popular.
When reviewing the water-use efficiency of the current Bermudagrass varieties on the market Gregg mentioned that in Australia he had heard a lot of information about how amazing TifTuf Hybrid Bermudagrass was for drought tolerance.
“Some of the advertising going on in Australia, saying that TifTuf is maybe 50% better at using water than other Bermudagrasses is nonsense,” Gregg said.
He cited a United States research trial Evaluation of Water Use Rates Among Bermudagrass Cultivars (Justine Moss and Dennis Martin – Oklahoma State University 2014) that compared the mean daily water use rates of nine Bermudagrasses under non-limiting soil moisture conditions in Oklahoma. The objective was to look at how much water Bermudagrasses needed to maintain quality.
Figure1: * Apologies for poor copy – search Research Project’s name for better quality.
Evaluation of Water Use Rates Among Bermudagrass Cultivars (Justine Moss and Dennis Martin – Oklahoma State University 2014).
“Table 1(below) shows TifTuf (DT-1) has done ok as it is in the Top 3 – however, it certainly is not head and shoulders above every other Bermudagrass that is out there!” Gregg said.
“So pay attention to the data you are seeing and ask is it legit or are they spinning things for marketing? I am not bashing TifTuf, it’s a good grass and it has a lot going for it – but some of the advertising I am seeing, especially in Australia, make me shake my head.”
Table 1: Comparison of mean daily water use rates of nine Bermudagrasses in Oklahoma field conditions under non-limiting conditions.
