Table 1. Comparative average turfgrass quality of se-
 lected cultivars when tested in Florida and Texas
 with other experimental and commercially avail-
 able cultivars in a NTEP National Bermudagrass
 Test that totalled 22 locations in 14 southern states
 from 1986 to 1991 (14).

Cultivar Florida Texas NTEP
 Rating
MS-Pride 6.7 7.7 6.7
Tifway 6.6 7.5 6.6
MS-Express 6.2 8.0 6.6
MS-Choice 6.1 7.3 6.4
Tufcote 6.3 5.7 6.1
Midfield 5.8 5.0 6.1
Midlawn 5.7 6.0 6.0
Texturf 10 5.9 5.2 6.0
FLoraTeXTM 6.2 5.8 5.7
Midiron 5.8 5.5 5.7
Vamont 5.7 5.2 5.5
Sonesta 5.7 5.2 5.4
NuMex Sahara 5.3 4.5 4.9
Guymon 5.3 3.2 4.4
Arizona Common 5.0 3.5 4.4

LSD value 0.7 0.9 0.2
t Quality rated 1 to 9 where 9=best. To determine statisti-
 cal differences (p=0.05) among cultivars within columns,
 subtract one culivar's mean from another cultivar's
 mean. Cultivars within locations differ in turf quality when
 the mean difference is larger than the corresponding
 LSD value.


 Midiron, Midlawn, Sonesta, Texturf 10, Tufcote, and Vamont.
 Its turf quality was not as high, however, as MS-Choice, MS-
 Express, MS-Pride, and Tifway (Table 1). Tifway bermudagrass
 is a hybrid from the cross C. dactylon x C. transvaalensis, and
 is considered to be an industry standard today for use on golf
 course fairways and athletic fields. Nitrogen level in these
 studies averaged 3.8 pounds but ranged from 1 to 6 pounds per
 1000 square feet per growing season. Mowing height aver-
 aged 1.2 inches but ranged from 0.25 to 3.0 inches. Irrigation
 was applied to prevent moisture stress. Soil at various loca-
 tions ranged from silty clay loam to loam to sand root zones.
 Soil pH averaged 6.5 but ranged from 4.6 to 7.5.

 Nitrogen Stress Tolerance

 A unique and superior characteristic of FLoraTeXTM is its
 ability to form an acceptable turf under low levels of nitrogen
 fertilization. When combined with its superior dehydration
 avoidance and drought resistance, FLoraTeXTM is a truly low
 maintenance turfgrass which can sustain a significant shoot
 density and growth rate needed for acceptable turf quality.


Table 2. Influence of nitrogen fertilization on ground cover
 estimates of selected bermudagrassest after 3.5
 years at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Dudeck, A.E.,
 Unpub. Data).

 N level

Cultivar Low Medium
 %
FLoraTeXTM 70 a 91 a
Tiflawn 46 a-c 79 ab
Ormond 24 b-d 74 ab
Tifway 17 cd 47 cd
Bayshore 0 d 41 d
Everlades Od 13 e
Arizona Common -
t A total of 145 bermudagrasses were involved in this trial.
t Low N plots received only 1 pound of N per 1000 square
 feet from a complete N-P-K fertilizer plus minor elements
 In March of an 8-month growing season. Thus, the aver-
 age rate was 0.1 pound of N per 1000 square feet per
 growing month. Medium N plots also received a com-
 plete N-P-K fertilizer in March, but N was reapplied dur-
 ing the seven following months at the rate of 0.5 pound
 of N per 1000 square feet. Thus, the average rate was
 0.6 pound of N per 1000 square feet per growing month.
 Arizona Common did not survive at both N rates and,
 therefore, was not included in the statistical analysis.
 Means followed by the same letter are not significantly
 different (p=0.05) using Waller-Duncan k-ratio t test.


 The ability of FLoraTeXTM to produce acceptable turf un-
 der very low nitrogen fertilization was first noted during 1970
 to 1974 at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Table 2). FLoraTeXTM aver-
 aged 70% ground cover at 3.5 years after receiving only 1.0
 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year. This is an
 average fertilization rate of 0.1 pound of nitrogen per 1000
 square feet per growing month. This contrasts with Tifway
 bermudagrass which averaged only 17% ground cover, while
 Arizona Common, 'Bayshore', and 'Everglades' were unable
 to sustain growth at this extremely low level of nitrogen. Even
 at a medium rate of 0.6 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet
 per growing month, Tifway produced an inferior turf of only
 47% ground cover, while FLoraTeXTM averaged 91% under a
 same nitrogen level.

 In a later study, these findings were reconfirmed at
 Gainesville, Fla. (9). Response of nine of the best Fort Lau-
 derdale bermudagrass selections were studied in a field for 3
 years at four nitrogen rates ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 pound of
 nitrogen per 1000 square feet per growing month. Acceptable
 turf quality of FLoraTeXTM was maintained at 0.3 pound of
 nitrogen per 1000 square feet per growing month. In contrast,
 Tifway required a minimum of 0.5 pound of nitrogen while
 Arizona Common required more than 1.0 pound of nitrogen