9.7 percent, respectively at Manhattan, KS). Te two winters damaged DALZ 1301 and FAES 1305 more, however, they recovered enough to provide quality almost equal to Meyer and KSUZ 1201 at the three northern locations. Since then, entries such as FAES 1312, DALZ 1301, FAES 1305 and 11-TZ-4321 have continued to recover and are now providing good to excellent quality at the nothern locations, along with KSUZ 1201. For so long, Meyer was the standard for winter tolerance, and therefore, the primary cultivar in use in the northern and Transition zone states. However, with these new experimentals, Meyer may finally be replaced in this region. In concert with 2015, results from the southern

locations show that in 2016 other experimental zoysiagrasses provide higher quality turf than Meyer and Zeon. Several entries including DALZ 1301, DALZ 1303, FAES 1303, FAES 1304, FAES 1305, A-1, 09- TZ-54-9 and FAES 1319 performed very well at a few locations, but their performance was much more location dependent. Meyer did perform well at a few locations, such as Fayetteville, AR and Jay, FL, but finished in the bottom third of all entries at most southern locations. Zeon performed well at Fayetteville, AR, consistently holding its own against the new experimentals at this and a few other locations. But like Meyer, Zeon also fell out of the top statistical group at most locations. Ancillary trials of traffic, drought and shade

tolerance yielded their first data in 2015. Tese trials were repeated in 2016 where College Station, TX imposed significant drought stress on the entries, rating turf quality and percent ground cover to measure drought tolerance. Several entries, including DALZ 1033, FAES 1303, FAES 1309, FAES 1310, FAES 1305 and FAES 1306 rated the highest for turf quality under the drought conditions. Traffic was imposed on the zoysia entries at the

Raleigh, NC location. 09-TZ-54-9, FAES 1313, A-1, CSZ 1105, DALZ 1303 and FAES 1315 (and ten other entries) had the highest percentage cover ratings at the end of the traffic season. And shade tolerance was tested at two locations, Riverside, CA (artificial shade) and Carbondale, IL (natural shade). Te Carbondale location has not yielded consistent results, however, some good separation and performance was noted at Riverside, CA, with entries like DALZ 1301, DALZ 1303, 09-TZ-53- 20 and FAES 1306, showing acceptable shade ratings.

Warm-Season Putting Green In the late 1990s, NTEP and USGA

collaborated on a trial to evaluate creeping bentgrass and bermudagrass on putting greens situated at golf courses. Te purpose of that trial was to evaluate putting green cultivars under actual golf course putting green conditions. For bermudagrass, eight golf courses were

TPI Turf News July/August 2017

chosen in locations as varied as Florida, California, Missouri and other sites. Data collected from that trial (http://www.ntep.org/reports/bg98o/bg98o_02-10f/ bg98o_02-10f.htm) showed that bermudagrass could work well as a replacement for creeping bentgrass in the lower Transition Zone and southern U.S. Tat trial contained seven bermudagrasses, several of which have become well established in the golf turf industry. More recently, the USGA is interested in

identifying warm-season grasses that can provide acceptable putting surfaces where course owners want to save water, pesticide and fertilizer inputs. In addition, the USGA is interested in evaluating potential new putting green grasses that can be mowed higher, do not require as much cultivation and vertical mowing, but still provide a good quality playing surface. Hence, the idea for a new collaborative trial that we established in 2013. A new twist on this trial is that we have included

not only bermudagrass, but also zoysiagrass and seashore paspalum. Seashore paspalum has been utilized on putting greens for the last decade or so, but zoysiagrass has almost no history as a putting green surface in the U.S. (zoysia has been a mainstay of ‘summer’ putting greens in Japan for decades). Including three different species in one trial offered challenges, particularly in management specifics that may differ from one species to another. However, eleven trial cooperators (seven

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