Bermudagrass

Abstract

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), a warm-season grass native to southeast Africa, is widely grown in the southeastern United States and is gaining popularity in southern Missouri. It is a deep-rooted, sod-forming grass that spreads by means of stolons and rhizomes and grows to a height of 15 to 24 inches. Perhaps its greatest advantage is that it is productive during the months of June, July and August when the quantity and quality of cool-season grasses such as tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) are poor. Another advantage of bermudagrass is that herbage production is distributed more evenly throughout late spring and summer than that of other warm-season grasses.