Comparative evapotranspiration of seventeen buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides (nutt.) engelm.) genotypes

Evapotranspiration (ET) rates of 17 genotypes of buffalograss were measured over periods of 10-12 days in the greenhouse. Evapotranspiration averaged across all genotypes ranged from 0.37 to 0.56 cm day ^-1 in three separate experiments. There were significant and consistent genotypic differences in average ET. The commercial variety ‘Plains’ and the experimental selection ‘Kenemer’ ranked highest, while ‘Nebraska 609,' ‘Nebraska 315,' and ‘Topgun’ ranked among the lowest for ET. Average ET was highly correlated with growth rate in two of the three experiments, suggesting that differences in ET between genotypes were due to differential leaf growth. However, genotypic differences in ET also existed on day 1 following uniform mowing, and day 1 rankings were significantly correlated with rankings for average ET. This indicates that genotypic differences in ET may be due to factors in addition to leaf growth rate. The data document that considerable variability in ET is present in buffalograss, and that many of the commercial varieties are among the best for water conservation.