This study evaluated the morphological development of Carpetgrass (Axonopus affinis), Tifton 419 (Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis) and Emerald (Zoysia sp.) turfgrasses grown in greenhouse and harvested at 97, 118, 146, 174, 202, 230 and 258 days old. Tifton 419 showed the largest stolons (83.3 cm), height (23.6 cm) and leaf number (12-24 cm-1 stolon); leaves measured 6.7 cm x 1.9 mm (fine texture). Carpetgrass stolons reached on average 58.3 cm and were thicker (2.5 cm), with 2-4 leaf cm-1; their leaves measured 10.9 cm x 12.3 mm (coarse texture) and the maximum height of the plant was 13 cm. The Emerald presented the lowest height (10 cm), stolon length (45 cm), leaf number (7 leaves cm stolon-1); their leaves measured 6.2 cm x 3.7 mm (medium texture). The dry matter accumulation (mg plant-1) reached 12,100 (Carpetgrass), 8,700 (Tifton 419) and 3,500 (Emerald), with root:shoot relation of 0.33, 0.15 and 0.19, respectively. The distinct morphologic characteristics of the grasses may promote its use for different purposes.
Axonopus; Cynodon; Zoysia; stolon; leaves; roots
