Zoysiagrass plant named ‘TD2013’

Abstract

An asexually reproduced variety of perennial zoysiagrass with a unique combination of morphological characters including medium leaf texture, sparse inflorescence production, early spring greenup and good canopy color retention in the fall.

Claims

1. A new and distinct variety of zoysiagrass plant, substantially as described and illustrated herein, characterized particularly by a unique combination of morphological characters.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS

(1) FIG. 1. Tiller of TD2013 zoysiagrass.

(2) FIG. 2. Inflorescence of TD2013 zoysiagrass.

COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

(3) TD2013 was characterized in greenhouse and field conditions. TD2013 is a unique variety of zoysiagrass (Zoysia matrella (L.)) Merr. that was discovered under cultivated conditions.

(4) The inventors, Milton C. Engelke and Virginia G. Lehman, discovered TD2013 near Lebanon, Oreg. in turf plantings designed to identify strengths, weaknesses, and purity of zoysiagrass experimental lines. In 2011, Milton C. Engelke visited a cemetery near Buford, S.C., and obtained several vegetative samples of what appeared to be strains of two to three different zoysiagrasses. The parents of the collected strains are unknown.

(5) The vegetative samples were planted in Lebanon, Oreg., and based on the distinction of propagules from one of the samples, TD2013 was identified in year 2013 as a distinctly different vegetative patch or clonal plant. TD2013 showed less seedheads than Diamond (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,636) and both earlier greenup in the spring, and longer color retention in the fall than Diamond. The notable early spring greenup of TD2013 and the extended fall color rentention are unique in the zoysiagrasses known to this time. The plants were evaluated in Oregon in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8b. The inventors asexually reproduced TD2013 in Lebanon, Oreg. by taking vegetative cuttings of stolons and rhizomes, cutting the rhizomes and stolons into segments, each with a vegetative bud, and rooting them in potting media. Planting of the rooted material provided planting stock for studying performance and for comparison of morphological characters after propagation. TD2013 has been propagated by rhizomes, stolons, tillers, and sod.

(6) Asexually reproduced plants of TD2013 have remained stable and true to type through successive generations of propagation. No seedling establishment from TD2013 has been noticed in either greenhouse or field studies.

(7) TD2013 is a perennial zoysiagrass that spreads by both stolons and rhizomes. Characteristics of TD2013 measured in 2015 were taken from plants that were approximately 8 months in age. The greenhouse was located near Lebanon, Oreg., with a nighttime low temperature of 50 degrees F., and daytime high of 80 degrees F., and a minimum soil temperature of 77 degrees F. The plants were grown under natural day length without supplemental lighting. The plants were fertilized with the equivalent of 1 pound of actual N per month, using a soluble fertilizer of 20-20-20 in four equal soluble applications per month.

(8) TD2013 has a medium leaf texture, with a wider leaf than Diamond (Table 1).

(9) TD2013 has a few sparse long leaf hairs, in contrast to Zorro(U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,130) which has many leaf surface hairs (Table 2). TD2013 has shown color ratings in early spring in California higher than Zorro (Table 4), but not different from Zorro when rated in September.

(10) TD2013 has not shown susceptibility to the zoysiagrass mite when tested at Poteet, Tex., where susceptible varieties have shown the coachwhip leaf symptoms of the mite.

(11) TD2013 has shown susceptibility to cool-season brown patch disease (Rhizoctonia sp.) when grown near Oxnard, Calif. TD2013 has shown good turfgrass performance and temperature adaptation when tested as far north as Willamette River Valley of western Oreg., USDA hardiness zone 8b, which would extend the area of adaptation for TD2013 into the central transition zone including Oklahoma, southern Illinois and Indiana, and south through Mexico. TD2013 will be limited only by winter survival in colder regions, and has shown good winter survival in field plantings in Oregon during the winter of 2013-14 and 2014-15. TD2013 is similar to most medium textured zoysiagrasses in water use demands as shown in test situations in Lebanon, Oreg., compared to Cavalier (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,778), Zorro, and Diamond. TD2013 is adapted from sandy to heavier loam soil textures and from slightly acid to slightly alkaline soil pH.

(12) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Leaf blade widths and lengths and texture class of selected zoysiagrass cultivars, measured under greenhouse conditions in Lebanon, OR, 2015. Length, Width, 2nd 2nd youngest youngest Leaf crown crown Texture leaf leaf Class Variety cm mm Rating TD2013 3.3 1.9 Medium Diamond 3.3 1.5 Fine

(13) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Adaxial leaf hair presence or absence of selected zoysiagrass cultivars, measured under greenhouse conditions in Lebanon, OR, 2015. Leaf hair, adaxial Presence/ Variety Number TD2013 Sparse Diamond Absent Zorro Many

(14) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Stolon characters of TD2013, measured under greenhouse conditions in Lebanon, OR, 2015. Thickness Thickness Stolon Stolon 1.sup.st 2nd Internode Internode Stolon youngest youngest length, 1.sup.st length, Internode stolon stolon to 2.sup.nd 2nd to 3.sup.rd length, 3rd node node node node to 4th node Variety mm mm cm cm cm TD2013 0.9 1.05 0.73 0.85 0.83

(15) TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Turf quality ratings taken February 2016 in Oxnard, CA. Turf mowed at fairway heights. Variety Color {circumflex over ()} Quality # TD2013 4.7 5.7 Zeon 4.3 2.3 Zorro 2.3 1.3 CV 32 21 Lsd, p = 0.05 1.88 2.3 {circumflex over ()} Color rated on a scale of 1-9, 9 = darkest green. # Quality rated on a scale of 1-9, 9 = best quality.

(16) TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Turf quality ratings taken in September in Oxnard, CA in 2016. Turf mowed at fairway heights. Variety Color {circumflex over ()} Smoothness # TD2013 7.3 5.7 Zeon 6.7 6.7 Zorro 7.3 7 CV 9.3 31 Lsd, p = 0.05 1.1 2.4 {circumflex over ()} Color rated on a scale of 1-9, 9 = darkest green. # Smoothness rated on a scale of 1-9, 9 = most smooth.

(17) TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Spring Greenup and Fall Color ratings taken near Lebanon, OR, in 2013-14 and 2014-2015. Early spring Mid-Spring Fall Color greenup greenup Retention Variety rating {circumflex over ()} rating rating # TD2013 4 9 5 Diamond 1 4 1 Zorro 1 3 1 {circumflex over ()} Greenup rated on a scale of 1-9, 9 = earliest greenup; Early date = approximately 3rd week in March. Mid-spring rated in mid-April. # Fall color retention rated on a scale of 1-9, 9 = green longer in the fall.

COMPLETE BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

(18) Origin: TD2013 is a cultivar of a single clone of zoysiagrass discovered under cultivated conditions in a Lebanon, Oreg. planting of zoysiagrass variety and experimental plots, with some of the plots derived from a collection of vegetative plugs from a cemetery near Buford, S.C. The parents of the collected plugs are unknown. TD2013 was identified in year 2013 as a distinctly different vegetative patch or clonal plant. TD2013 differed from the surrounding plants in less seedheads than Diamond (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,636) when tested in Oregon, and both earlier spring greenup and fall color retention than surrounding grasses. TD2013 has shown to produce a prolific number of seedheads in the Fall of the year when grown near Oxnard, Calif., latitude of 34.2. Classification: Zoysia matrella (L.) Merr. Growth habit: TD2013 is a perennial plant that spreads by stolons and rhizomes and produces a dense, fine textured turfgrass. Seldom producing an inflorescence in Oregon, the inflorescence of TD2013 is a terminal spike-like raceme, with spikelets on short pedicels. Leaf blade: Rolled in the bud, flat surface. Leaf blade pubescence: Very sparse, adaxial, occasional long hairs, mostly 1 to 1.25 mm long, but up to 1.5 mm in length. Leaf margin pubescence: Barbellate margins, up to 0.05 mm long, with a frequency of 4 per mm. Diamond has some barbellate margin to a very small degree, but not as prominent or regular as TD2013, occurring every 2.5 mm in distance along the leaf. Leaf sheath pubescence: Absent except for long hairs at mouth of sheath, and a ring of short hairs inside the sheath where it attaches to the stem; TD2013 mean length sheath mouth hairs at side of sheath: mostly 1 mm, few at 2.1 mm, and seldom up to 2.5 mm; inside sheath ring of hairs: 0.2 mm. Leaf blade margin: TD2013=slight roughness; Leaf blade veins: Prominent. Leaf blade flexibility (softness): Medium stiff compared to Diamond with a stiff leaf. Vegetative leaf, 2nd youngest vegetative leaf: Blade length range.TD2013: 3.1 to 3.5 cm, mean length: 3.3 cm. Blade width mean.TD2013: 1.5 mm to 2.3 mm, mean width: 1.9 mm. Sheath length, 4.sup.th youngest vegetative leaf: Mean length TD2013.23 mm. Stolon leaf angle, third youngest leaf: TD2013: 85; Diamond: 52 (by reference). Inflorescence characters: Culm total length, including floral area to node below flag leaf.58 mm. Length of stem of inflorescence: 44 mm. Floral area length: 14 mm. Culm width, stem thickness, base of floral area.0.55 mm. Anther length.1.2 mm. Floret (seed) length.Range 2.5 to 2.75 mm. Floret (seed) width.Mean of 0.7 to 0.8 mm. Pedicel length.2.0 mm. Flag leaf length.TD2013: 5 mm. Flag leaf width.TD2013: 0.95 mm. Mature plant height, unmown in greenhouse, vegetative leaves (not including inflorescence): TD2013.4.5 cm; compared to Diamond at 9 cm. Mowing height as turf: Optimum height, field trials, TD2013: 12 to 90 mm; Diamond: 3-13 mm. Color notations, vegetative characters, based on The R.H.S. Colour Chart (light quality, photoperiod, and general growth of the plants affect color notations): Leaf blade color adaxial leaf surface.137 C green. Leaf blade color abaxial leaf surface.137C green. Stolon color.159 B orange-white, 138 B green. Color notations, floral characters, based on The R.H.S. Colour Chart (light quality, photoperiod, and general growth of the plants affect color notations): Culm stalk.144 A yellow-green. Stigma.158 B greyed yellow white. Anthers, mature, dried.160 B greyed yellow with 187 A greyed purple. Turf quality in August (rated 1-9, 9 best), Lebanon, Oreg: TD2013: 6; Zorro: 5.

REFERENCES CITED

U.S. Patent Documents

(19) November, 2002 Doguet, D. U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,166. Zeon zoysiagrass

(20) July, 1997 Engelke, M. C. U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,778. Cavalier zoysiagrass

(21) October, 1998 Engelke, M. C. U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,636. Diamond zoysiagrass

(22) July, 2002 Engelke, M. C. U.S. Plant Pat. No. 14,130. Zorro zoysiagrass