AgriLife Research

The latest turfgrass release by Texas A&M AgriLife Research breaks new ground among market zoysia grasses, especially in its viability for golf course putting greens. “Zoysias have typically not been considered for widespread use on putting greens,” said Dr. Ambika Chandra, AgriLife Research professor and turfgrass breeding program lead in Dallas. “This variety marks a very big stride in the viability of zoysia grasses for this application.” The new variety, developed as DALZ 1308, will be marketed and sold under the brand name Lazer Zoysia Grass. It’s a first-generation hybrid developed by crossing the species Zoysia minima and Zoysia matrella. The result is an “ultradwarf” turfgrass well-suited for golf course putting greens in a wide range of environments across the U.S., including the difficult transition zone in the central part of the country. Superior Quality Over Diamond Lazer Zoysia Grass produces narrower and shorter leaf blades as well as a shorter “dwarf” canopy compared to Diamond. Diamond was formerly the finest-leaf producer available on the zoysia market. It was also developed by AgriLife Research. In research trials, Lazer displayed resistance to tawny mole crickets as well as having lower seed-head production as compared to Diamond during the growing season. Shoot density is also higher, and the turfgrass retains its medium‐green genetic color longer into fall and winter. Greenhouse experimentation so far shows Lazer has a higher percentage of green coverage as compared to Palisades, Diamond, and Zorro varieties of zoysia grasses under moderate shade conditions. Lazer attributes also contribute to ...