Tahoma 31 Ranks #1 in Turf Quality in NTEP, Top Performer for Low Water Use & Drought in USGA/NTEP Study
The National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) has posted 2020 data of the 2019 National Bermudagrass Test. Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass ranked #1 of all 35 entries for overall turfgrass quality across 19 locations while TifTuf was in the #2 spot tied with three experimental varieties (https://ntep.org/data/bg19/bg19_21-2/bg1921tqsum.txt).
NTEP also reported the progress data in the 2018 USGA/NTEP Water Use and Drought Tolerance Test—Warm-Season Species. Among all 11 bermudagrass entries, Tahoma 31 was a top group performer (25% best or top statistic group) under rainout shelter in three of four locations, Jay, FL, Lexington, KY, and Stillwater, OK. Under the deficit irrigation of both 30% and 45% ETo replacement, Tahoma 31 was a top performer at all four locations, Riverside, CA, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Las, Cruces, NM, and College Station, TX (https://ntep.org/reports/ws18w/ws18w_21-4/ws18w_21-4.htm).
(ETo is defined as a historical reference evapotranspiration water quantity of warm-season grasses for a specific location. The 60% ETo is near full water requirement while 30% and 45% ETo post substantial drought stress on the tested grasses.)
Read the full data report from NTEP; https://ntep.org/reports/ws18w/ws18w_21-4/ws18w_21-4.htm
Excerpt from the summary published in Turf News September/October 2021: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dvlILS8iDKzxno-iRTmdg749aoFokfT_/view?usp=sharing
Summary by Dr. Yanqi Wu
Oklahoma State University
10/7/21
