Characterization of commercial cultivars and naturalized genotypes of Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walter) Kuntze in Australia

TL;DRAbstract

Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walter) Kuntze, known as "St Augustinegrass" in the USA and "buffalo grass" in Australia, is a widely used turfgrass species in subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world. Throughout its range, S. secundatum encompasses a great deal of genetic diversity, which can be exploited in future breeding programs. To understand better the range of genetic variation in Australia, morphological-agronomic classification and DNA profiling were used to characterize and group 17 commercial cultivars and 18 naturalized genotypes collected from across Australia. Historically, there have been two main sources of S. secundatum in Austalia: one a reputedly sterile triploid race (the so-called Cape deme) from South Africa now represented by the Australian Common group naturalized in all Australian states; and the other a "normal" fertile diploid race naturalized north from Sydney along the NSW coast, which is referred to here as the Australian Commercial group because it h

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