Drought resistance of bermudagrass accessions collected from Eastern Mediterranean

Water shortages and climate change have brought renewed attention and urgency to develop turfgrasses with improved drought resistance. Hence, new sources of drought-resistant germplasm would aid breeding to develop turfgrasses for water-limited environments. This study aimed to determine drought resistance of 95 Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. (bermudagrass) accessions collected from the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The objectives were to (1) evaluate drought resistance of the accessions in field experiments with sandy soil and compare their performance to commercial cultivars, and (2) investigate the relationship between the ploidy levels and drought resistance traits. The accessions, belonging to five ploidy levels, and five commercial cultivars were established in the field and evaluated for drought resistance for two years. The accessions were classified into four drought resistance response groups, using drought resistance descriptors of leaf firing (LF) and turfgrass quality during dry-down (DQ) periods of 45 days in both growing seasons. The most drought-resistant group did not include any of the commercial cultivars and exhibited the lowest LF, highest DQ during drought stress, and recovered faster than the other groups. There were 10 days difference to reach 50% green cover during dry-down and recovery periods between the most resistant and susceptible groups. Increased ploidy level did not directly relate to enhanced drought resistance or faster recovery. The most drought-resistant group possessed accessions from all ploidy levels. The results support the existence of accessions with superior drought resistance that offer genetic resources for bermudagrass improvement suitable for water limiting environments.