Development and Impact of Vegetative Propagation in Forage and Turf Bermudagrasses

Abstract

The beauty and uniformity of vegetatively propagated grasses on golf course greens, fairways and tees, and on athletic fields and lawns and the superiority of the vegetatively propagated forage grasses that we enjoy today did not happen by accident. Risks were taken, innovative approaches were used, new equipment was developed and modified, and public institutions and private industry teamed up to make what we have today a reality. In the 1940s and 1950s, pioneering discoveries and advances were made in inventing equipment, establishing protocols, and developing consumer confidence. Vegetative reproduction in bermudagrass revolutionized the golf and athletic field industries by providing a superior, high‐quality, uniform playing surface. It maximized profitability of the forage industry for cattle ( Bos taurus ) by providing the very best genotypes for farmers and ranchers to plant for grazing and hay. Although vegetative propagation of forage and turf started with Cynodon hybrids in a small area of the United States, the practice has expanded on a commercial scale to numerous species around the world.