Celebration Proves Itself in Shade Tolerant Study

Celebration Bermudagrass was rated the most consistent bermudagrass in a two-year greenhouse shade tolerance study at Clemson University. From June 15 to August 15 of 2005 and repeated over those same dates in 2006, 42 bermudagrass cultivars and one zoysiagrass were evaluated for their growth and development in 64 percent continuous shade.
  Celebration & Tifway after 8
weeks of 64% continuous shade

These 42 cultivars were evaluated based on turfgrass quality (TQ) ratings, shoot chlorophyll concentration, total root biomass and root length; Celebration was rated the top cultivar for each of these parameters. Maintaining 73 percent relative humidity and average temperatures of 30.8 degrees Celsius as a high and 26.2 degrees Celsius as a low for both years, all of the cultivars were treated equal, but produced a wide range of results.

Celebration maintained acceptable TQ ratings following four weeks of 64 percent shade. After eight weeks, all of the cultivars, including Celebration had severe tissue discoloration. Celebration was also evaluated under 71 percent shade and it maintained a similar TQ score to the zoysiagrass at a twenty-five millimeter mowing height.

Although, Celebration ranked at the top of this shade study, the TQ scores for all of the cultivars were found to be unacceptable, even the shade tolerant ones. Research will continue in future to provide further insight to the bermudagrass shade responses.

To read the full study, visit www.sodsolutions.com/research.