Drought-Tolerant Bermuda
Nearly twenty-five years of testing and development have resulted in the release of TIFTUF™, the new standard in drought-tolerant bermudagrass. Selected for superior drought and wear tolerance, TIFTUF™ has been rigorously developed and tested since 1992 by a team of researchers led by Dr. Wayne Hanna and Dr. Brian Schwartz at the University of Georgia.
TIFTUF™ was bred as one of 27,700 experimental bermudagrass genotypes. In 1999, ninety of the most promising genotypes were planted under a rainout shelter and evaluated through 2001 under deficit irrigation. Under this drought stress, TIFTUF™ (tested as experimental name DT-1) maintained its quality and green color the longest.
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Drought Tested
The mechanism of TIFTUF’s™ drought tolerance may be reduced water use, particularly in heavier soils. During testing, soil moisture remained consistently higher in TIFTUF™ plots than in plots containing other bermudagrass varieties. In 2011, continuing drought study testing established that TIFTUF™ used 38% less water and retained 95% more green leaf tissue during drought stress when compared to Tifway.
Prior to its release, TIFTUF™ had been further tested in 19 drought-stress trials, 2 sports field wear tolerance trials, utilizing the Cady traffic simulator, and 4 irrigated, non-stress trials at The University of Georgia, The University of Florida, North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M University as part of the Federal Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grant. It has now been determined that TIFTUF™ will become the University research standard by which all drought tolerance will be determined.
Requirements, Irrigation & Characteristics
Light Requirements:
TIFTUF™ Bermuda only requires 4-5 hours of sun.
Irrigation:
Though drought tolerant, to maintain a healthy appearance during the hottest months of summer, TIFTUF™ needs about 1 to 1 1/4 inches of water a week. On sandy soils it often requires more frequent watering, for example, 1/2 inch of water every third day. A light green-grey color and narrowing of leaves indicate that it is time to water.
CHARACTERISTICS
- Hot Weather Tolerance : Excellent
- Sun Requirement : 4 – 5 hours Excellent
- Wear Resistance : Excellent
- Injury Recovery : Excellent
- Winter Color : Dormant
- Mowing Height : 0 .5″ – 2″
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