SeaIsle 1 Research Data and Evaluation

     Paspalum ecotypes vary greatly when it comes to turfgrass quality, mowing height tolerances, traffic/wear tolerance, disease/insect/nematode resistance, weed pressure as well as the ability to withstand drought, salt, acid/alkaline soils, waterlogging, shade and low light conditions. It's a mistake to assume that just because a cultivar came from a drought-prone or high-salt environment it will offer superior drought or salt tolerance. This research conducted at the University of Georgia's Griffin Experiment Station and other locations, documents the advantages of SeaIsle 1 when compared to other warm-season turfgrass varieties available today.

Salinity Resistance

     Two major injuries can occur at high soil or water salinity levels: drought stress brought on by the plant's inability to uptake water, and injury to root and shoot tissues due to high salt levels. Based on tests of shoot and root growth responses to increasing salinity levels, SeaIsle 1 showed a minimal decline in rooting and maintained a high level of growth when compared to Adalayd and Tifway 419. SeaIsle 1 is the most tolerant of the warm season grasses.

Drought Tolerance

     Drought resistance involves the ability to produce extensive, deep root systems. A 1997 study of seven warm season turfgrasses comparing responses to surface soil drought stress and rewatering demonstrated that SeaIsle 1 and TifBlair centipede had superior drought resistance. Both exhibited enhanced root growth, rapid root-water uptake at deep soil levels, excellent soil surface root viability , and excellent root regeneration after rewatering.

Cold Tolerance

     SeaIsle 1 does quite well in the southern transition zone (between 30-35°N-S latitudes) and has a cold tolerance similar to the hybrid bermudas. Fine textured paspalums like SeaIsle 1 are generally the last warm season grasses to go off color in the fall by two to three weeks, and it normally takes temperatures of at least 28°F (-2.2°C) for them to go into full winter dormancy. They are also less responsive to mild midwinter and early spring temperature swings.

Wear/Traffic Tolerance

     On golf courses, wear injuries usually result from physical abrasions and torn plant tissue caused by maintenance vehicles, golf carts, and incoming balls. On athletic fields, compaction, as well as cleat and spike injuries, are the most common problems. A 1998 wear simulation study involving seven paspalums and three bermudas relealed that, in general, the fine-textured paspalums had less or similar injury from wear than bermudas of similar texture.

Shade/Low Light Tolerance

     SeaIsle 1, like most other warm season grasses, does not tolerate tree shade very well and should not be planted in areas with thick tree canopies or heavy shade. However, in rainy, low light environments or cloudy, foggy or smoggy conditions, SeaIsle 1 performs exceptionally well and maintains a dark green color and good turf quailty verses the elongated, spindly leaves that are typical of bermudagrass response to the same to the same reduced light conditions.

Soil pH Adaptation

     Paspalums in general will tolerate pH ranges from very acidic pH 3.5 to a highly alkaline pH 10.2, and they root equally well in sands, heavy clays, silts and mucks. In acid soil field trials, SeaIsle 1 placed in the "high tolerance" group, while SeaIsle 2000, the fine-bladed greens-type paspalum cultivar, scored in the "very high tolerance" group. In extremely alkaline soils, paspalums are usually the only turf-type grass species that can survive.

Low Oxygen/Hypoxia Tolerance

     Paspalums have a history of tolerating complete ocean water inundations and the low oxygen problems associated with waterlogged or wet and boggy environments. That's why SeaIsle 1 is so ideally suited for low-lying or poorly drained areas that tend to stay wet for a long time. In fact, SeaIsle 1 may actually help firm up such problem areas through water extraction, so that sports and other recreational activities can take place.

Mowing Height Tolerance

     SeaIsle 1 should be maintained at 1/2" for fairways and 1/4" for tees. A these lower mowing heights, SeaIsle 1 develops higher shoot densities, is more competitive against broadleaf and annual grassy-weed invasions, and maintains better turf quality. Maintaining SeaIsle's cutting heights at or below 1/2" is more important than N fertility levels in terms of low temperature color retention in the fall as well as grass color during spring greenup.

Disease Resistance

     SeaIsle does not have a wide variety of disease problems that tend to plague other warm season grasses. More than likely this is due to the fact that the grass evolved in a wet, humid ecosystem where it developed resistance. When irrigating with brackish or straight sea water, disease problems are negligible, since most diseases do not function well at high salt levels. SeaIsle 1 was developed to resist dollar spot and ranked "most resistant" to it in three 1995 studies.

Low Fertility Requirement

     The paspalums developed and thrived in stressful ocean-exposed ecosystems. This helps explain how SeaIsle 1 developed such efficient nutrient uptake and utilization mechanisms. SeaIsle 1 will grow when the availability of nutrients is quite low, as well as in situations with severe nutrient imbalances. Because SeaIsle 1 is so efficient in its uptake of nitrogen, less than 5 pounds of N per 1000 square feet is recommended via spoon-feeding on an annual basis.

Weed Control

     Most weeds lack the necessary level of salt tolerance to compete with SeaIsle 1 in a salt-affected turfgrass environments. A close mowing height of less than 13mm (1/2") will also provide a tight, dense canpoy that deters weed growth. The exceptions include those grassy weeds like kikuyugrass, torpedograss and kyllinga, which are extremely aggressive in warm coastal venues, wet soil conditions and aquatic waste sites.

Licensed Growers Association

     SeaIsle 1 can only be sold as certified sod or sprigs, and only by licensed members of the SeaIsle Growers Association. This group of quality-conscious sod producers has agreed to the stringent production practices set up by the Georgia Seed Development Commission. You can be assured of SeaIsle 1's genetic purity. As a certified turfgrass, it's grown, inspected and sold under a rigourous set of guidelines designed to ensure ongoing purity and uniformity.