Monday, November 13, 2006 - 2:15 PM
68-21

Temperature Affects Germination of Seeded Bermudagrasses.

Tyler N. Sandlin, Gregg Munshaw, H. Wayne Philley, Brian S. Baldwin, and Barry R. Stewart. Mississippi State University, Box 9555, 117 Dorman Hall, Mississippi State, MS 39762

Seeded bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L. Pers.) cultivars have become increasingly popular in the southern United States. Differences in cold tolerance have been shown to exist among cultivars, however, little is known about temperature requirements for germination among cultivars. The objective of this study was to determine optimal germination temperatures of coated bermudagrass seed including the cultivars ‘Arizona Common’, ‘Princess-77’, ‘Riviera’, ‘Transcontinental’, and ‘Yukon’. Germination chambers were programmed for day/night temperature swings of 10o C. Day temperatures ranged from 15 to 50oC. Photoperiod was held at 12 h for all chambers. Four replications of 50 seeds of each cultivar were placed on germination pads in petri dishes and placed into the chambers. Seed were kept moist with distilled water. Germination was recorded at 7, 14, and 21 days. There was a significant cultivar x temperature interaction. There was no germination at 15/5o or 50/40° C, while 25/15oC resulted in the highest amount of germination. At all other temperatures there were significant differences in germination among cultivars. Across all temperatures, Transcontinental had the highest amount of germination while Riviera had the lowest. Optimal germination temperatures ranged from 25 to 40 dependent upon cultivar.