‘Tif’ grasses, have become synonymous with sporting surfaces across the world. Grasses like Tifway, Tifdwarf, Tifton 419, TifEagle and more recently the highly awarded TifTuf. These grasses were all bred at the University of Georgia, Tifton in the USA, driving the moniker ‘Tif’.
The University of Georgia has one of, if not the most highly successful turf breeding programs in the world. Turf research at the facility began in 1946 with the introduction of an annual grant provided by the United States Golf Association (USGA). The goal of the grant was to develop a better Bermuda (couch) grass to replace the sand greens and seeded Bermuda grass greens.
In 1947 trials began using plugs taken from the best greens from several golf courses in the Southern area. These plugs were planted along with by-products of the existing pasture grass breeding program that already existed. In addition, a seeded plot of common Bermuda grass was included.
After 3 years of testing with golf green management, the common Bermuda grass that was planted from seed was the poorest performer in the test. The best grass was a hybrid created from a dense dwarf type and a disease resistant selection originating in the pasture breeding program. This grass was released in 1952 and was known as Tiflawn. Unfortunately, it was later found to be too coarse for golf greens.
Development didn’t stop there though, with a wave of new superior grasses developed over the following years – such as Tiffine with a finer softer leaf, a better putting-green grass named Tifgreen, leading into the introduction of Tifway in 1960. Tifway had superior green colour, frost tolerance, a denser profile and was more resistant to pests and diseases.
Tifdwarf, a sterile triploid, was released in 1965. This grass was first discovered by USGA Green Section agronomist James B. Moncrief, widely known as Monty. Tifdwarf was a natural mutant of Tifgreen. Tifdwarf has many of the same characteristics of Tifgreen, but with shorter and smaller leaves.
Sterile triploids like Tifdwarf, cannot be developed through the same means as traditional turf breeding methods. These grasses can however be modified through the exposure of dormant sprigs to gamma rays. This method was undertaken in 1970 on Tifway, Tifgreen and Tifdwarf, resulting in 158 new mutant strains. These strains underwent evaluation until 1981, before the release of Tifway II, an improved version of Tifway. Tifgreen too had an improved mutant released known as Tifgreen II.
After Tifgreen II, the focus of the breeding program pivoted more towards the development of hardier Bermuda grasses for winter conditions. This resulted in the inclusion of a hexaploid Bermuda grass collection being included from a lawn in China. This grass had a dark bluish-green colour and was quite winter hardy. It had a coarser leaf, with lower wear tolerance than Tifway. This grass was later released in 1988 as Tifton 10, by Dr. Wayne Hanna.
While there had been significant successes in developing successful Bermuda grass types for release, there were still demands and improvements required to improve putting green quality when compared to bent grass. They simply could not tolerate the conditions and low mowing height required to perform at the same standard of quality.
This culminated in a new goal for the breeding program, developing dwarf cultivars of a higher standard for short mowing. More mutations were introduced to the program along with continued gamma radiation. In 1995, a new grass known as TifSport was released. This grass was followed shortly after in 1997, by TifEagle. These two grasses were the first patented hybrids from Tifton.
Improved characteristics in other areas were identified, initially shade tolerance was priority. Six genotypes with lower light requirements were crossed with six cold tolerant varieties. In 1999, 60 hybrids were identified and studied for reduced light performance. The standout was a dark green dwarf-type genotype later named TifGrand.
In more recent years the breeding program has changed its focus towards grasses that could withstand longer periods without irrigation. Those with a higher drought tolerance, that could perform well in a broad range of environments. This continues to become significantly more important with water restrictions and drought conditions becoming more common occurrences, not just in the US but right across the world.
This research resulted in one of the latest commercial turfgrass releases, DT-1. DT-1 is an interspecific hybrid triploid that succeeded in 19 drought-stress trials. After more than 20 years of continued evaluations the grass was released in 2014. This grass was named TifTuf.
TifTuf maintains better coverage, stays greener and requires significantly less water. After introduction and continued trials and assessments throughout Australia, TifTuf was released to the Australian market exclusively through the Lawn Solutions Australia national network of turf suppliers.
TifTuf is now the benchmark in Australia for not just couch grasses, but all grasses, and is showing all the superior characteristics achieved through a highly successful breeding program. Lawn Solutions Australia has led the way for TifTuf to be made available through significant investment and trials. This trial data and continued observation has culminated in the awarding of the Smart Approved WaterMark to TifTuf. TifTuf is the only grass to achieve this level of recognition for its water saving benefits.
We can’t wait to see what the team at Tifton come up with next.
