Again in 2022, several zoysia entries have been


excellent, outperforming many bermudagrass entries. Entries such as Diamond, FZ 1710, FZ 1717, and DALZ 1815 zoysia were top performers in Riverside, CA, and Griffin, GA. MSB-1050 bermuda and DALZ 1815 zoysia were high ranking entries at Jay, FL, and Mississippi State, MS. DALZ 1814 zoysia was an excellent entry at College Station, TX, and Richmond, VA. Overall, it is surprising how well these new zoysiagrasses have performed thus far under putting green management. For seashore paspalum, SeaStar was a top entry at


Griffin, GA, Mississippi State, MS, and College Station, TX. UGA 17-653 was also in the top statistical group at Mississippi State and College Station with UGA 16-1105 as the top entry at College Station. However, bermudagrass is still the preferred warm-season species for putting greens, and MSB-1050 and Tahoma 31 have performed well at two or more locations. Ball roll distance is an important evaluation factor


for these grasses. In 2022, four locations collected ball roll data with distances at three of those locations reaching at least 8 feet (243.84 cm). Mini-Verde and Tifdwarf bermuda had consistently some of the highest ball roll distances at the three locations. St. Augustinegrass and seashore paspalum cultivar


development have been fairly limited in the U.S. for a long while. Te situation changed in the early to mid-


2000s when new plant breeders were hired at southern universities like Texas A&M, the University of Florida, and North Carolina State University. With those folks in place, along with established programs at the University of Georgia and Mississippi State University, and with a major federal (USDA) grant from the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), an increase in breeding of warm-season species is occurring across the southern U.S. Growers and consumers are now seeing new cultivars of St. Augustinegrass and seashore paspalum in the marketplace. Tese new cultivars will have improved drought and salt tolerance, as well as other improvements. To evaluate some of those new experimental grasses, NTEP initiated new trials of St. Augustinegrass and seashore paspalum in the summer of 2016. Tose trials are complete and the final summary of all data from those trials is now available and is discussed below. New trials of both St. Augustinegrass and seashore paspalum are being established in the summer of 2023.


St. Augustinegrass St. Augustinegrass is a species where several older


cultivars are still competitive in the marketplace. Floratam, developed by the University of Florida and Texas A&M and released in 1973, Raleigh, a cold-tolerant cultivar, and newer releases Mercedes and Palmetto still compete in the U.S. market. In some areas, sod producers grow and market their own local selections, while there are still common-type cultivars, such as Texas Common sold


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