By:
Ed Hunter (352) 392-1773 x 278

Source(s):
Laurie Trenholm letr@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu, (352) 846-3831
John Hamilton johnhamilton22@hotmail, (941) 352-1187

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GAINESVILLE — With drought conditions forecast to continue over much of the nation, many homeowners under water restrictions have little choice but to watch their lawns wither under the unrelenting sunshine.

But a grass from Africa could soon provide homeowners with an option to the heat-sensitive bahiagrass and St. Augustinegrass used in lawns throughout the southern United States, said Laurie Trenholm, a turfgrass specialist with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Trenholm is helping test the grass to determine the best ways for growers and homeowners to care for it.

“Seashore paspalum grass is extremely tolerant of drought and the salty environment of coastal areas,” Trenholm said. “It also handles wear, insects and diseases well.”

In fact, she said the grass is so salt-tolerant that it can be irrigated with pure seawater — a plus for drought-stricken homeowners in coastal areas.

“When you put all this together, it means that we have a grass that will require less pesticides, fertilizers and water in order to maintain a high- quality lawn,” she said.

In addition to lawns, the grass could be used in golf courses or athletic fields. In fact, she said seashore paspalum was installed in the Superdome in New Orleans for an exhibition game prior to the 1999-2000 football season.

The grass made its way to the United States from its native Africa aboard slave ships some 300 years ago.

“When the slave ships arrived in many of our coastal port towns, the slaves would be unloaded and their bedding, which was stuffed with the grass, was dumped on the shore,” Trenholm said. “Since the grass tolerates low water conditions, it survived the trip and established itself here.”

Trenholm said the grass spread in Florida and the Southeast, with researchers taking note of it seven or eight years ago. Initial testing at the University of Georgia demonstrated seashore paspalum’s drought tolerance, which attracted the interest of commercial grass growers.

Trenholm said supplies of the grass for consumers will be limited through summer 2001 as growers gear up their production. The grass will be slightly more expensive than popular grasses such as St. Augustinegrass, but Trenholm expects prices to drop as supplies increase.

One Florida turfgrass grower working with seashore paspalum is Punta Gorda-based Southern Turf Nurseries, which is developing a variety called Salam. John Hamilton, an agronomist with the company, said Salam would make an excellent substitute for the coarser St. Augustinegrass.

“Salam is a fine-textured grass with a dark green color,” said Hamilton. “People come from up North and they want to feel like they are walking on bluegrass and that’s what Salam feels like.”

Salam and other varieties of seashore paspalum have slightly different care and maintenance requirements than grasses most people are used to caring for.

“They should be mowed at a lower height — about 1 * to 2 inches for a home lawn use — than St. Augustinegrass, which should be mowed at 3 to 4 inches,” Trenholm said.

As many states, particularly in the South and Midwest, face a continuing cycle of summertime droughts, Trenholm said homeowners — especially those who must chose a type of grass for a new or replacement lawn — might want to consider the grass.

“Much of the nation is under drought conditions right now, and certainly watering home lawns is low on the list of needs for water,” Trenholm said. “Therefore it is very important that homeowners and landscape people do everything they can to ensure that the grasses they plant are going to be able to maintain their quality and produce some good green growth during a drought.”

Trenholm said most homeowners would need to remove existing grass before resodding with seashore paspalum. But she said homeowners in coastal communities could plant the grass in existing lawns and irrigate with saltwater. Since the seashore paspalum can live on saltwater, it would eventually take over the lawn, she said.

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