A St. Augustine grass which has been named "Seville" was disclosed in U.S.
Plant Pat. No. 4,097, which issued on Sept. 6, 1977. Another St. Augustine
grass which has been named "Delmar" was disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat.
application Ser. No. 893,960, filed Aug. 7, 1986. A further St. Augustine
grass designated 6-72-130 is disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. application Ser.
No. 07/185,524, filed or even date herewith.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct perennial St. Augustine
grass selected from the progeny of a controlled pollination of a cold
tolerant selection obtained from Memphis, Tenn. with the pollen of
Seville. This yellow anther, white stigma genotype was labeled 6-72-182
and propagated vegetatively by stolons to provide planting stock for
studying performance and making comparisons to present commercial
varieties.
The combination of yellow anthers, white stigma, short and thin internodes,
short leaf blades, good cold tolerance, a low tendency for purple stems,
good resistance to gray leaf spot and very good turf quality of 6-72-182
along with other information allow this genotype to be distinguished from
other St. Augustine grasses.
FIG. 1 is a photograph of 6-72-182 St. Augustine turf;
FIG. 2 shows a single spike of a 6-72-182 St. Augustine grass plant
depicting yellow anthers and white stigmas protruding from several
spikelets; and
FIG. 3 is a photograph of a vegetative stolon of 6-72-182 St. Augustine
grass.
Genotype 6-72-182 has a yellow anther color, a white stigma color, and an
unreduced chromosome number of 18. The internodes and leaf blades are
shorter than most other St. Augustine varieties. The combination of
shorter internodes and leaf blades along with narrower than average leaf
blades results in a turf that is generally more dense, finer textured and
produces fewer clippings when mowed. Measurements of the spike and related
structures indicate that 6-72-182 has a shorter and narrower spike, a
peduncle that is shorter than average and thinner than most varieties, a
shorter and narrower flag leaf and a shorter flag leaf sheath than most
varieties of St. Augustine grass. The chromosome numbers, anther and
stigma color and morphological measurements of 6-72-182 and other St.
Augustine grasses are compared in Tables 1-4.
| TABLE 1
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Chromosome numbers, anther color, and stigma color of 6-72-182
|
| and other St. Augustine grasses
|
| Chromosome Anther Stigma
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Number Color Color
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 18 Yellow White
|
| 6-72-130 18 Purple Purple
|
| Bitterblue 27 Yellow Purple
|
| Delmar 18 Yellow White
|
| Floratam 27 Yellow Purple
|
| Floratine 27 Yellow Purple
|
| Raleigh 18 Yellow White
|
| Seville 18 Yellow Purple
|
| Texas Common 18 Yellow White
|
| California Common
|
| 18 Yellow White
|
| 1081 18 Purple Purple
|
| ______________________________________
|
| TABLE 2
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative measurements of internode length and thickness of
|
| 6-72-182 and other St. Augustine grasses.
|
| Internode(a)
|
| Diameter (mm)(b)
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Length (cm)
|
| Longest Shortest
|
| Flat(c)
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 4.8 2.8 2.2 1.32
|
| 6-72-130 5.6 2.7 1.9 1.44
|
| Bitterblue 6.9 2.7 2.1 1.30
|
| Delmar 5.7 3.5 2.6 1.35
|
| Floratam 7.5 3.2 2.5 1.25
|
| Floratine 5.8 2.7 2.2 1.30
|
| Raleigh 7.0 3.2 2.5 1.27
|
| Seville 6.8 2.7 2.2 1.25
|
| Texas Common
|
| 6.2 3.0 2.2 1.35
|
| California Common
|
| 4.2 2.4 2.0 1.22
|
| 1081 7.3 2.8 2.0 1.38
|
| LSD (.05) 1.15 0.24 0.27 0.091
|
| ______________________________________
|
| (a) Greenhouse planting at Marysville, Ohio. Measurements taken on
|
| unclipped potted plants using third internode from terminal end of stolon
|
| (b) Diameter measurements taken at the approximate center of the
|
| internode which has an elliptical shaped cross section.
|
| (c) Flatness index equals longest axis divided by shortest axis. A
|
| larger flatness index indicates a flatter shaped stem.
|
| TABLE 3
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative Leaf Blade Length, Width and Sheath Length of
|
| 6-72-182 and other St. Augustine grasses(a).
|
| Blade Length (cm)
|
| Blade Sheath
|
| High(b)
|
| Low(c)
|
| Width(b)
|
| Length(b)
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Light Light (cm) (cm)
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 5.3 13.7 1.5 2.3
|
| 6-72-130 5.2 14.8 1.3 2.7
|
| Delmar 7.3 16.7 1.8 3.3
|
| Bitterblue 7.4 17.5 1.5 2.8
|
| Floratam 10.1 27.2 1.7 4.5
|
| Floratine 8.6 16.3 1.4 3.2
|
| Raleigh 7.8 13.8 1.7 3.7
|
| Seville 6.9 18.4 1.4 2.9
|
| Texas Common 8.1 16.6 1.7 3.6
|
| California Common
|
| 3.8 11.8 1.2 2.2
|
| 1081 7.8 15.2 1.5 3.2
|
| LSD (.05) 2.03 3.25 0.17 0.71
|
| ______________________________________
|
| (a) Greenhouse Planting Marysville, Ohio. Measurements taken on
|
| unclipped potted plants.
|
| (b) After a period of natural sunlight and a high level supplemental
|
| light.
|
| (c) After a lengthy period of very cloudy conditions and no
|
| supplemental light.
|
| TABLE 4
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative measurements of the inflorescence and related
|
| structures of 6-72-182 and other St. Augustine grasses(a).
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Spike Peduncle
|
| Length Width Length Width
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 60 4.3 52 1.6
|
| 6-72-130 56 4.8 41 1.7
|
| Delmar 93 5.3 68 2.1
|
| Bitterblue 78 5.6 61 2.2
|
| Floratam 96 5.9 83 2.4
|
| Floratine 74 5.8 48 2.3
|
| Raleigh 72 5.8 62 2.2
|
| Seville 71 4.9 50 1.9
|
| Texas Common 68 4.9 42 1.9
|
| 1081 78 5.2 60 1.9
|
| LSD (.05) 10.0 .64 18.3 0.28
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Flag Leaf Flag Leaf Sheath
|
| Length Width Length
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| (mm) (mm) (mm)
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 16 6.0 30
|
| 6-72-130 30 5.9 31
|
| Delmar 21 6.7 46
|
| Bitterblue 22 6.4 44
|
| Floratam 35 6.3 46
|
| Floratine 27 7.2 39
|
| Raleigh 25 7.5 42
|
| Seville 15 5.8 38
|
| Texas Common 29 7.1 39
|
| 1081 25 6.3 39
|
| LSD (.05) 12.4 1.08 6.7
|
| ______________________________________
|
| (a) Greenhouse planting Marysville, Ohio.
|
Field observations of 6-72-182 indicate that it has very good turf quality
characteristics throughout the year and across the area of the United
States where St. Augustine grass is adapted. It performs especially well
in the Florida climate. Although it performs best during the hotter summer
months, it has good cold tolerance and performs better during the winter
months than most readily available commercial varieties. These
characteristics of 6-72-182 as compared with other St. Augustine grasses
for turf quality and cold injury are illustrated in Tables 5-7.
| TABLE 5
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative turf quality(a) of 6-72-182 and other St. Augustine
|
| grass varieties at Apopka, Florida.
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Summer Winter Mean
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 9.3 8.3 8.7
|
| 6-72-130 8.2 7.6 7.8
|
| Bitterblue 7.3 5.9 6.0
|
| Delmar 9.8 9.0 9.6
|
| Floratam 7.5 5.8 6.1
|
| Floratine 7.2 6.1 6.4
|
| Florida Common
|
| 8.2 6.6 7.0
|
| Raleigh 6.7 7.1 7.4
|
| Seville 9.0 7.9 8.1
|
| Texas Common 6.5 8.4 8.0
|
| 1081 8.7 6.8 7.3
|
| LSD (.05) 0.45 0.99 0.88
|
| ______________________________________
|
| (a) Qualityrated 1-10, 10 = best.
|
| TABLE 6
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative turf quality(a) of 6-72-182 and other St. Augustine-
|
| grass varieties at the South Coast Field Station of the University
|
| of California - Riverside.
|
| Turf Quality
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Summer Winter Mean
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 5.8 4.5 5.0
|
| 6-72-130 6.6 4.6 5.4
|
| Calif. Common
|
| 5.4 4.2 4.7
|
| Delmar 5.3 4.7 4.9
|
| Floratam 5.4 4.1 4.6
|
| Raleigh 4.6 3.3 3.9
|
| Texas Common 5.5 4.3 4.8
|
| LSD (.05) 0.50 0.44 0.39
|
| ______________________________________
|
| (a) Qualityrated 1-10, 10 = best.
|
| TABLE 7
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative cold injury of 6-72-182 and other St. Augustine
|
| grasses in Apopka, Florida
|
| Cold Injury (%)
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Expt. 1 Expt. 2 Expt. 3
|
| Expt. 4
|
| Mean
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 21 5 35 28 22
|
| 6-72-130 35 17 38 18 27
|
| Bitterblue 53 38 58 34 46
|
| Delmar 0 0 17 3 5
|
| Floratam 40 42 55 40 44
|
| Floratine 48 32 37 26 36
|
| Raleigh 32 12 37 13 23
|
| Seville 35 15 37 24 28
|
| Texas Common
|
| 18 7 33 28 21
|
| 1081 47 33 48 33 40
|
| LSD (.05) 20.9 18.5 26.1 23.5 16.5
|
| ______________________________________
|
Color of turf is an important component of turf quality. 6-72-182 has a
good dark green color during the summer months which is darker green than
most St. Augustine varieties, and during the winter months its color is
comparable to other varieties. Other factors that have shown varietal
differences include: tendency to turn brown during the winter, for which
6-72-182 is rated about average; susceptibility to Asulox (an important
herbicide) to which 6-72-182 is not susceptible; purple stem color,
especially during cold weather, for which 6-72-182 has a very low
tendency; susceptibility to gray leaf spot to which 6-72-182 has good
resistance; and susceptibility to chinch bugs to which 6-72-182 has shown
no greater susceptibility than most other varieties. Data on turf color,
winter browning, Asulox injury, purple stems, gray leaf spot and chinch
bugs are in illustrated in Tables 8-12.
| TABLE 8
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative color ratings of 6-72-182 and other St. Augustine
|
| grass at various locations in the U.S.
|
| Color(a)
|
| Florida(b)
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Summer Mean California(c)
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 9.8 8.5 3.9
|
| 6-72-130 8.6 7.7 3.8
|
| Bitterblue 8.5 7.6 --
|
| Calif. Common
|
| -- -- 3.8
|
| Delmar 10.0 8.9 4.6
|
| Floratam 8.8 7.8 4.2
|
| Floratine 8.0 7.5 --
|
| Florida Common
|
| 8.3 7.9 --
|
| Raleigh 7.0 6.5 3.4
|
| Seville 9.2 8.5 --
|
| Texas Common 6.8 7.9 4.0
|
| 1081 8.8 8.0 --
|
| LSD (.05) 0.48 0.67 0.35
|
| ______________________________________
|
| (a) Color rated 1-10, 10 = darkest green
|
| (b) Test planted at Apopka, Florida
|
| (c) Test planted at South Coast Field Station, University of
|
| California Riverside.
|
| TABLE 9
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative ratings of various attributes of 6-72-182 and other
|
| St. Augustine grasses which detract from overall appearance.
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Brown(a)
|
| Asulox(b)
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 5.0 0
|
| 6-72-130 6.3 5
|
| Delmar 3.7 0
|
| Bitterblue -- 12
|
| Floratam 6.3 0
|
| Floratine -- 2
|
| Raleigh 8.3 10
|
| Seville -- 3
|
| Texas Common 5.7 0
|
| California Common
|
| 4.0 --
|
| 1081 -- 7
|
| LSD (.05) 2.0 5.3
|
| ______________________________________
|
| (a) Test planted at South Coast Field Station University of
|
| California Rated as % brown turf.
|
| (b) Test planted at Apopka, Florida Rated as % injury
|
| TABLE 10
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative evaluations of purple stem color of 6-72-182 and
|
| other St. Augustine grasses.
|
| Purple Stem Color(a)
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Ohio(b)
|
| Florida(c)
|
| California(d)
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 4.5 3 0
|
| 6-72-130 8.3 30 4.3
|
| Bitterblue 8.0 10 --
|
| Cal. Common -- -- 0.7
|
| Delmar 3.5 7 0.7
|
| Floratam 8.3 20 2.7
|
| Floratine 8.0 8 --
|
| Raleigh 6.0 28 1.7
|
| Seville 4.0 0 --
|
| Texas Common 4.5 8 1.0
|
| 1081 7.5 58 --
|
| LSD (.05) 1.1 15 0.9
|
| ______________________________________
|
| (a) Purple stem color rated 1-10, 10 = stolons are very purple, 1 =
|
| stolons are entirely green. For Florida, visual estimation of the level o
|
| stem purpling in percent.
|
| (b) Test planted in the greenhouse at Marysville, Ohio.
|
| (c) Test planted at Apopka, Florida.
|
| (d) Test planted at South Coast Field Station, University of
|
| California Riverside.
|
| TABLE 11
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative ratings of gray leaf spots(a) of 6-72-182 and other St.
|
| Augustine grasses at Apopka, Florida.
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 1.7
|
| 6-72-130 1.7
|
| Bittrblue 3.5
|
| Delmar 1.0
|
| Floratam 3.8
|
| Floratine 2.6
|
| Raleigh 0.7
|
| Seville 0.8
|
| Texas Common 2.4
|
| 1081 2.2
|
| LSD (.05) 0.88
|
| ______________________________________
|
| a Rated 1-10, 10 = most disease.
|
| TABLE 12
|
| ______________________________________
|
| Comparative ratings of chinch bug tolerance(a) of 6-72-182 and
|
| other St. Augustine grasses.
|
| Selection/Variety
|
| Florida(b)
|
| ______________________________________
|
| 6-72-182 3.0
|
| 6-72-130 1.7
|
| Delmar 2.0
|
| Bitterblue 5.0
|
| Floratam 7.0
|
| Floratine 2.7
|
| Raleigh 6.3
|
| Seville 5.7
|
| Texas Common 4.7
|
| ______________________________________
|
| (a) Rated 1-10. 10 = severe damage.
|
| (b) Test planted in the greenhouse at Apopka, Florida.
|
Meier, Virgil D., Riordan, Terrance P., Mixson, Wayne C.
| Patent |
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| Date |
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