EXCITING NEW BUFFALO GRASS COMING 2026
After 6 years of trials both here and in the US, LSA is pleased to announce we have selected a new buffalo grass for release to the Australian market – Introducing Stampede Hybrid Buffalo.
Stampede® Hybrid Buffalo is the next evolution in premium buffalo turf, developed to deliver improved resilience and reliability in Australian conditions. Through advanced hybrid breeding, Stampede brings together proven genetics and next-generation performance to deliver outstanding results year-round.
Stampede has improved winter performance and colour retention, allowing it to hold its appearance longer through cooler months compared to traditional buffalo varieties. Stampede delivers strong establishment, vigorous growth and excellent recovery, enabling it to handle wear, repair quickly and establish with confidence after installation. The result is a robust, high-performing buffalo lawn built to thrive year-round.
Drawing on the best traits of elite buffalo genetics, Stampede offers improved disease resistance, helping it stay healthier and looking better for longer, even under challenging conditions. This makes it a smart choice for both residential and commercial landscapes where consistent performance is essential.
Buffalo Turf Trials
Stampede Hybrid Buffalo is an interploid hybrid St. Augustinegrass (buffalograss; Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze). It was developed using embryo rescue technology through controlled pairwise crossing between a polyploid buffalograss (chromosome number: 2n = 2x = 30) and a diploid buffalograss (chromosome number: 2n = 2x = 18).
During trials, while cultivar performance varied across different sites, one consistently outperformed the rest, excelling in all key areas. Stampede Hybrid Buffalo Grass proved to be the best-performing cultivar during winter in some very cold and harsh environments, which is a crucial factor for many turf producers. Remarkably, Stampede remained unaffected by disease during the humid summer, whereas most other buffalo cultivars were impacted. Additionally, it boasted an impressive appearance and excellent harvest quality.
The next step in releasing this new grass to the market has involved stock expansion. When a new variety enters Australia through quarantine, we receive only a few runners of plant material to expand from for testing.
This year, LSA has set up propagation facilities for planting stock to be available to LSA foundation farms to expand and make the grass available for each member for planting. All the grass material supplied to LSA Members throughout this process has been expanded from these few pieces of trial stock that came through quarantine in 2022.
Stampede Hybrid Buffalo is an AusGAP Certified turf variety.
LSA engaged the services of the Australian Genetic Assurance Program (AusGAP) to monitor and enact protocols to ensure the purity of this selected variety every step of the way. As you can imagine, the process of creating a supply of a new variety of grass is slow and tedious, but it is pertinent to ensure the purity of the grass so that it performs as it has throughout trials.
More information about this exciting new variety can be read here.
Supply of this exciting new buffalo grass is anticipated to be achieved for release to consumers in many areas throughout Australia in mid to late 2026.
If you are interested in learning more about this variety or finding out when supply is available near you, please fill out your details below:
