The Germination Responses of Five Bermudagrass Cultivars to Seedcoating and Temperature
As turfgrass quality of seeded bermudagrass (SB) [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] cultivars has increased over the past 20 years, so has their use. Improved SB cultivars offer ease of establishment and convenience of storage while providing an economic advantage over vegetative propagation. Currently, most improved seeded cultivars are marketed with a seedcoating unique to each seed company. However, germination of some of the new cultivars is not ideal. The objectives of this study were to determine commercial coating effects on germination, compare germination among cultivars, and evaluate the effect of temperature on germination of five bermudagrass cultivars. ‘Princess-77’, ‘Riviera’, ‘Transcontinental’, and ‘Yukon’ were selected for a series of 21-day germination studies with ‘Arizona Common’ included as a standard cultivar. The study compared two seed lots of coated and uncoated samples of the five cultivars for germination response to six temperature regimes. Cumulative count intervals occurred on Day 7, Day 14, and Day 21. Overall, commercial seedcoating did not significantly affect SB germination. However, both temperature regime and cultivar were significant factors. Germination percentage was greatest with either the 35/25 °C or the 30/20 °C temperature regimes. ‘Riviera’ exhibited the lowest overall germination, whereas ‘Transcontinental’ and ‘Arizona Common’ exhibited the highest.