Two years of studies into native bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) germplasm from Sicily (Italy) for the constitution of turf cultivars

Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) is the most widely used warm season turf species in the world for sport, lawn and utility turfs. The species is widespread in Sicily (Italy) where it exhibits a large range of diverse morphological characteristics due to a long process of adaptation to varying climatic and soil conditions of the island. In order to exploit the bermudagrass genetic resources and establish a germplasm bank for use in various plant breeding programmes, bio-agronomic evaluation tests were carried out on the 40 Sicilian biotypes of Cynodon spp. from 2002 to 2004 at the experimental farm “Orleans”, University of Palermo. The accessions were compared to the standard cultivar ‘Savannah’, as a reference. The main biometric and qualitative parameters (leaf texture, shoot density, turf colour and quality, etc.) of bermudagrass turf were monitored and, for each parameter, the biotypes exhibited significant differences.