Abstract

Common carpetgrass (Axonopus fissifolius Raddi) is a stoloniferous, sod-forming species used sparingly as a turfgrass. No information is available regarding the relationships between germplasm accessions of this species. Accordingly, the initial objective of this study was to evaluate the relatedness of common carpetgrass germplasm for morphological and turfgrass performance traits. This was accomplished using principal component and cluster analysis. Resulting principal components were separated into related traits that influenced plant architecture, aesthetic appeal, and inflorescence characteristics. The secondary objective was to identify if collection location impacted genotype performance. This was completed by arranging genotypes into groups on the basis of their geographic origin within the collection area and subsequently analyzing the groups to determine if collection location impacted growth and performance. Differences were found for winter color, establishment, and seedhead density between the SE group and other groups (SW, NE, and NW) which were not different from each other. Groups refer to regions; specifically, SE represents south of 31° N latitude and east of 86° W longitude, SW represents south of 31° N latitude and west of 86° W longitude, NE represents north of 31° N latitude and east of 86° W longitude, and NW represents north of 31° N latitude and west of 86° W longitude.

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