Abstract
St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze), native of the Caribbean and African regions is a species widely used along the Gulf of Mexico coast, the southern United States, the Caribbean region, South America, West Africa, Australia, the South Pacific and the Hawaiian Islands. It spreads vegetatively through stolons and sods and only recently production of seed has been developed.
The purpose of this research was to determine, in three locations in the Mediterranean area, the performances of five commercial cultivars of St. Augustinegrass and five ecotypes, comparing their growth and morphological characteristics during the establishment in order to evaluate their suitability for turfgrass production. The trial was carried out in three locations in Italy (experimental stations at the University of Pisa, Padua, and Palermo) in 2016. The evaluated parameters included soil coverage (%), stolons growth rate, color, quality, internode diameter, internode length, leaf width and length, and color retention in the fall.
The more significant results can be summarized as follows: during the establishment, stolons growth rate and fall color retention were significantly influenced by the location. Stolons growth rate, length and volume of the internodes, and turf quality were also significantly determined by the cultivars. The turf quality performed by the ecotypes was, in some cases, comparable with that of the commercial cultivars. Leaf width values, in some ecotypes, were similar to those of the commercial cvs, and in some cases lower.
