Photo 1: Prestige is a new release from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln buffalograss breeding program. Here it is growing at five-eighths of an inch while irrigated with 1 inch of water per month.

I am often asked, "Does buffalograss have a role as a golf course turf?" My response, of course, is, "Yes!" It is an excellent selection for roughs and a recent release, Prestige (Photo 1), has strong potential for use as a fairway turf.

A little over 20 years ago, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) started a breeding program to improve buffalograss as a turfgrass species. The United States Golf Association partnered with us in this effort.

Why buffalograss?

We felt buffalograss had some natural characteristics that made it an excellent candidate for use as a golf course turf. Buffalograss is native to the Great Plains of North America. It is a dense, low-growing, warm-season grass species with excellent high-temperature tolerance, drought resistance and water conservation characteristics. It has a very low nitrogen requirement. These attributes piqued our interest in improving buffalograss as a golf course turfgrass species.

Table 1: We have released nine vegetative and seeded type cultivars since the start of our breeding program in 1984.

Our program has been quite successful to this point. We've released nine cultivars (Table 1) in the past 20 years that have returned more than $1 million in royalties to UNL and the USGA.

Table 2: Our buffalograss breeding program is based on a team effort. In 2002, we formed a working group to address the complex issues of improving buffalograsses. The following individuals are current members of this working group.

The success of this program has been primarily the result of a team effort involving faculty, staff and students in agronomy, entomology, biochemistry, biological engineering, horticulture and plant pathology. Terry Riordan provided leadership for the UNL buffalograss breeding program for nearly 18 years. It was under his leadership that the majority of the current cultivar releases were made. In 2002, a Buffalograss Breeding Program Working Group (Table 2) was formed, and I had the good fortune to take on the role of leading this group and the buffalograss breeding program.