Sept. 26, 2007

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OVERTON - After a seed shortage last year, supplies this year should be plentiful of Axcella 2, a winter turfgrass developed by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.

"They had a good growing season in Oregon, where most turfgrass seed is grown," said Dr. Lloyd Nelson, the Experiment Station scientist who developed Axcella 2.

Axcella 2 is an upgrade from an earlier released turf grass, Axcella.

Axcella 2 is even "dwarfier" than Axcella, which was the first dwarf ryegrass released, he said. This means that though the grass produces a thick, green rich carpet, it doesn't grow tall and therefore requires only seldom mowing, Nelson said.

"Leaf color of Axcella 2 is much darker green than forage type annuals, such as Gulf ryegrass, but it is not as dark green as many perennials," he said.

Axcella 2's other advantage is that it starts growing when warm-season turfgrasses such as St. Augustine or bermudagrass stop growing in the late fall, Nelson said. Axcella 2 maintains its green color even when temperatures drop below freezing. And it stops growing in the spring at the time warm-season grasses come out of winter dormancy and begin growing again.

"So it's possible to have a green lawn all winter long without a lot of work and without competing with your summer turf," Nelson said.

Nelson developed Axcella 2 not only with home lawns in mind but for sports fields as well. Some athletic field managers have been slow to adopt winter annuals because they fear they won't stand up to heavy traffic as well as perennials.

This is not necessarily true, particularly in the case of Axcella 2, Nelson said.

"When comparing a turf-type annual versus perennial ryegrass there are advantages for either depending on how the turf is to be used," he said. "Axcella 2 should withstand traffic or the athletes throughout the fall, winter and spring equally if not better than the perennial. However, during the late spring, or from mid March to mid May, the perennials will withstand traffic better."

But unlike most perennials, Axcella 2 will not crowd out summer turfgrasses such as bermudagrass, he said.

"This is because it transitions out much earlier – mid-April through mid-May – compared to perennials, which keep growing until late-May or even late-June."

The late-spring die-off of Axcella 2 means sports fields managers won't have to use herbicides to kill Axella 2 as they do with perennial winter turfgrasses, he said.

Also, Nelson said, Axcella 2 has more seedling vigor than even the best perennials. This means that with good management, it will develop a good stand in about seven days, compared to two weeks or longer for a perennial, he said.

"If we define the use for sports fields and in particular for either football fields or soccer fields, I believe the recently release variety Axcella 2 has more advantages than do perennials," he said.

Axcella 2 should be seeded around Oct. 15 when the soil temperature has cooled and rainfall is expected, Nelson said. It can be seeded as late as mid-November with success. The seed should be uniformly spread at from 10 to 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

The seeded turf should be watered by sprinkler irrigation for at least 30 minutes per day for five to seven days, he said. At least a five-day watering plan is essential for the seed to germinate and establish itself in warm-season sod.

"The warm-season sod needs to be mowed close, or at about 1 inch or less, but does not need to tilled up before over-seeding," Nelson said.

In Texas, Axcella 2 seed is distributed by Estes Inc. and available at many local seed companies or feed stores.