Description:

Overview of Technology

This grass cultivar offers enhanced cold tolerance and enhanced gray leaf spot tolerance compared to other St Augustines. 

Description of Technology

Mississippi State’s Turf Breeding program is proud to introduce its first-ever release of a St. Augustine Cultivar, MSA 2-3-98. Combining drought-resistant, cool-tolerant hardiness with the plush luxury you expect from St. Augustine, this grass is the perfect solution when you need a shade-tolerant turf that appeals to today’s homeowners.

Unlike traditional St. Augustine varieties, 2-3-98 exhibits enhanced cold tolerance to expand its utility north of MS Hwy 82. MSA 2-3-98 is well adapted to shaded areas where sunlight quantity will not allow Bermuda and Zoysia cultivars to maintain dense cover. As an answer to the finer, denser appearance that homeowners have become accustomed to from Bermuda and Zoysia, MSA 2-3-98 displays finer blades and denser overall growth than traditional St. Augustines, giving it a desired eye appeal. 

MSA 2-3-98 originated from a polycross of two F1 lines in a cold tolerance improvement program, and a single F2 line selected from the population advanced through testing to become this new named cultivar. 

Benefits

This grass cultivar offers enhanced cold tolerance and enhanced gray leaf spot tolerance compared to other St. Augustines. 

Additional attributes of MSA 2-3-98 that are outstanding to competitive cultivars are: better “spring green-up,” higher rated “turfgrass quality,” shorter internode lengths, and smaller stolon diameter. Having all these components combined contributes to its unique appearance as observed by its peer evaluators in the NTEP St. Augustine trials.