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" DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY & SOILS
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
R. DENNIS ROUSE, Director
FEBRUARY 1977 DEPARTMENTAL SERIES NO. 36
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
AUBURN, ALABAMA
; i
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NEW BERMUDAGRASS VARIETIES, 
A PRELIMINARY REPORT
C. S. Hoveland, R. F. 
McCormick, Jr.
Department of Agronomy 
and Soils
Auburn University Agricultural 
Experiment Station
Common bermudagrass, widespread 
over Alabama, is susceptible to 
Helminthosporium
leaf spot which causes 
leaves to turn brown in late 
summer. Coastal bermuda, 
grown
on over 350,000 acres in 
the State, is more disease-resistant 
than common and much
higher yielding when adequately 
fertilized. However, dry matter 
digestibility of
Coastal bermuda is relatively 
low and weight gains of growing 
steers rarely exceed
1.0 lb. per day for the season. 
Coastcross-l, a more digestible 
bermuda variety, is
not cold hardy and may be winterkilled 
even in southern Alabama. 
Cold-hardy bermuda-
grass varieties with higher 
digestibility are needed.
Several new bermudagrass varieties 
and potential varieties were 
planted the
spring of 1976 at eight locations 
in the State to evaluate their yield 
potential and
persistence.
Bermudagrass entries in these 
tests were as follows:
(1) Coastal - Georgia Coastal 
Plain Experiment Station, Tifton, 
Georgia hybrid
between Tift bermuda and a tall-growing 
introduction from South Africa.
Dr. G. W. Burton.
(2) Tifton 44 - Georgia Coastal 
Plain Experiment Station hybrid 
between a high-
quality selection from Kenya, 
East Africa and a cold-hardy 
plant from
Berlin, Germany. Dr. G. 
W. Burton.
(3) Tifton 68 - Georgia Coastal 
Plain Experiment Station hybrid 
of high-quality
giant or stargrass introductions 
from Kenya
4 
Dr. G. W. Buton.
(4) Callie - Mississippi 
State University selection 
of giant or stargrass
introductions from northeastern 
Africa. Dr. V. Ho Watson.
(5) Alicia - South Texas 
selection of an introduction 
from southern Africa.
C. Greer.
Sprigs of each variety were planted during April, 1976 in 4 x 20 foot plots,
-2-
replicated 4 times, with 4 feet between each plot to prevent mixing of the varieties.
Mineral fertilizers were applied according to soil test and 50 lb. per acre nitrogen
was applied at planting followed by 50 lb. per acre 1 month later and 100 lb. per
acre after each harvest. Plots were harvested with a flail harvester at 4- to 8-
week intervals, depending on growth.
In addition to the five bermudagrass entries planted 
at eight locations in
1976, another test at the Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee 
established in 1975 was
harvested in 1976. Winter survival was determined at this one test 
location after
a relatively wild winter.
In-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of hand-harvested forage from 
each
plot at each harvest was determined throughout the season at the Plant Breeding 
Unit.,
Determinations were made by Dr. W. G. Monson, USDA-ARS, Georgia Coastal Plain Ex-
periment Station, Tifton, Georgia.
RESULTS
Forage Yield
Good stands of all entries were obtained at all locations except the Black
Belt Substation where a severe drought resulted in such stand losses that the test
had to be abandoned. Forage yields at the other locations were generally good,
Tables 1-7. In northern Alabama, two cuts were obtained while at other 
locations
three to four cuts were harvested. Highest yields were obtained at the Lower
Coastal Plain and Wiregrass Substations where over six tons per acre of dry 
forage
was harvested on the highest yielding entries, Callie and Tifton 68.
Both Callie and Tifton 68 spread rapidly by stolons 
(above-ground stems
parallel to the ground) and generally outgrew 
other entries except at the Tennessee
Valley Substation where Alicia made more rapid early 
growth. Tifton 44 formed a
complete ground cover more slowly than other entries 
in the tests.
Second-year forage yields were obtained from a test 
planted at the Plant
-3-
Breeding Unit in April, 1975, Table 8. Winter survival was good on all entries
except Callie where only 16% ground cover remained in late April, 1976. This re-
sulted in much lower production of Callie than Alicia or Coastal at the June harvest.
Rapid growth of Callie restored the stand and yields at subsequent harvests were
similar to that for Alicia or Coastal. However, total yield for the season was
highest for Alicia. Pensacola bahia yield was much lower than any of the bermuda
entries.
Forage Quality
Digestibility of forage varied greatly among bermudagrass entries in the 1976
trial at the Plant Breeding Unit, Table 9. Tifton 68 was highest, averaging 65.7%
for the season. Callie was second highest, followed by Tifton 44 and Coastal.
Alicia was lower than all other entries throughout the season, averaging 54.4%.
SUINMARY
Results of these trials are preliminary as they are mainly based on 1 year's
results. The high first-year forage yields of Callie and Tifton 68, together with
digestibility values higher than for Coastal, suggest that animal production should
be better. However, the cold susceptibility of Callie, and probably Tifton 68,
indicate that winter killing may be a problem. The low digestibility of Alicia
forage indicates that Coastal is a better choice for hay in Alabama. Recommenda-
tions on Callie await further evaluation for cold hardiness. Neither Tifton 44 or
Tifton 68 are released and planting material is not yt available.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The following persons were responsible for conducting trials at outlying
experimental substations:
J. K. Boseek and W. B. Webster at Tennessee Valley
J. T. Eason and M. L. Ruf at Sand Mountain
W. A. Griffey and H. E. Burgess at Piedmont
L. A. Smith and H. W. Grimes, Jr. at Black Belt
-4-
J. A. Little and J. T. Owen III at Lower Coastal Plain
J. G. Starling at Wiregrass
J. E. Barrett, Jr. and F. B. Selman at Gulf Coast
Table 1. Forage yield of bermudagrass varieties at Tennessee Valley
Substation, 1976.
Entry July 26
Alicia 4610 a*
Callie 2008 b
Tifton 44 2411 b
Tifton 68 1812 b
Coastal 998 b
C.V.% 38
Pounds ovendry forage per acre
Sept 10 Total
4139 ab 8749 a
4795 a 6803 b
3565 b 5976 bc
4143 ab 5955 bc
3363 b 4361 c
13 18
*Any two yield values within a column marked with the same letter are not
significantly different at 5% level.
Table 2. Forage yield of bermudagrass varieties at Sand Mountain Substation,
Crossville, 1976.
Pounds oven dry forage per acre
Entry July 29 -Sept 1
5  
Total
Callie 3404 a* 4601 ab 8005 a
Tifton 68 3300 a 3915 b 7215 a
Coastal 1943 b 4958 a 6901 a
Alicia 2188 b 4490 ab 6678 a
Tifton 44 1934 b 4543 ab 6477 a
C.V.% 24 13 13
*Any two yield values within a column marked with the same letter are not
significantly different at 5% level.
Table 3. Forage yield of bermudagrass varieties at Piedmont Substation,
Camp Hill, Ala., 1976.
Pounds oven dry forage per acre
Entry Aug 6 Sept 20 Total
Tifton 68 1896 a* 2806 a 4702 a
Callie 1376 b 2366 ab 3742 b
Alicia 885 c 2257 ab 3142 bc
Coastal 790 c 2080 b 2870 c
Tifton 44 717 c 2028 b 2745 c
C.V.% 24 15 15
*Any two yield values within a column marked with the same letter are not
significantly different at 5% level.
v
II-
Table 4. Forage yield of bermudagrass varieties at Plant Breeding 
Unit,
Tallassee, 1976.
Pounds of oven dry forage per acre
Ewtiy July 16 Aug 17 Sept 9 Octl5 Total
Callie
Tifton 68
Coastal
Alicia
Tifton 44
C.V.%
4606 a*
4795 a
2107 b
1796 b
2075 b
14
3282 a
2347 b
1982 bce
1849 c
1632 c
11
1926 a
1570 ab
1848 a
1665 ab
1].333 b
13
1728 a
1836 a
2030 a
1802 a
984 b
18
11542 a
10548 a
:7967'-b
S7112 bc
6024 c
10
*Any two yield values within a column marked with the same letter are not
significantly different at 5% level.
Table 5. Forage yield of-bermudagrass varieties at Lower Coastal Plain
Substation, Camden, Ala., 1976.
Pounds oven dry forage per acre
Entry July 19 Au 31 Oct 21 Total
Callie 3978 a* 5606 a 3977 a 13561 a
Tifton 68 2701 ab 4956 ab 3808 a 11465 ab
Tifton 44 1864 bc 4355 be 2844 b 9663 be
Alicia 527 c 4192 c 4147 a 8866 bc
Coastal 956 c 4018 c 3337 ab 8311 c
C.V.% 51 10 14 16
*Any two yield values within a column marked with the same letter are not
significantly different at 5% level.
Table 6. Forage yield of bermudagrass varieties at Wiregrass Substation, 1976.
Pounds of oven dry forage per acre
Entry Aug 3 Sept 1 Oct 5 Total
Callie 3668 b* 5273 a 5006 a 13947 a
Tifton 68 4724 a 3565 b 4344 b 12633 a
Coastal 3565 b 3275 b 3362 c 10202 b
Alicia 2958 b 2735 b 3357 c 9050 b
Tifton 44 2641 b 1400 c 2123 d 6164 c
C.V.% 18 26 11 13
*Any two yield values within a column marked with the same letter are not
significantly different at 5% level.
...
Table 7. Forage yield of bermudagrass varieties 
at Gulf Coast Substation,
Fairhope, 1976.
Pounds of oven dry forage per acre
Entry July 13 Aug 11 Sept 10 
Total
Callie 1940 a* 1066 a 4642 ab 
7648 a
Coastal 864 a 941 a 
5210 a 7015 a
Tifton 44 885 a 1085 a 4494 
ab 6464 a
Tifton 68 970 a 823 a 4014 ab 
5807 a
Alicia 801 a 778 a 3602 b 
5181 a
C.V. 66 28 20 24
*Any two yields within a column not marked with the same letter are not
significantly different at 5% level of probability.
Table 8. Ground cover and forage yield of bermudagrass varieties at Plant
Breeding Unit, Tallassee, Ala., 1976, (test planted 1975).
Percent Pounds of oven dr forage er acre
ground cover,
EntryApril 27, 1976 June 15 July 16 Aug 17 Sept 9 Oct 15 Total
Alicia bermuda 88 5012 a* 3944 a 2596 ab 2046 a 1780 a 15,380 a
Coastal bermuda 75 3331 b 3930 a 1681 b 2044 a 1702 
a 12,688 b
Callie bermuda 16 1794 c 3462 a 2726 a 1786 a 1782 a 11,550 L
Pensacola bahia 90 888 c 2044 b 2153 ab 1383 b 955 b 7,425 c
C.V.% 31 16 26 13 11 12
*Any two yield values within a column marked with the same letter are not
significantly different at 5% level.
Table 9. In-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of bermudagrass entries at
Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee during 1976.
Percentage IVDMD of forage
Entry :July 16 .,Ag 17 . . Sept 9 Oct 15 .... Average
Tifton 68 56.8 70.8 69.3 65.9 65.7
Callie 59.0 61.7 64.1 60.8 61.4
Tifton 44 57.0 56.6 60.4 59.9 58.5
Coastal 53.9 56.6 59.8 56.8 56.8
Alicia 52.6 53.4 55.7 55.7 54.4


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