It’s like watching grass grow” is often used to convey a tedious and boring task.

But for researchers at Oklahoma State University Agriculture, who are literally creating and growing grass, it’s anything but boring.

“Is it challenging? Absolutely. Is it a long road to bring a turfgrass to market? Of course,” said Dr. Dennis Martin, OSU Extension specialist for turfgrass. “But the turfgrasses of tomorrow are made long before they are installed into your lawn to ensure the highest quality.”

Researchers from the OSU departments of plant and soil sciences and horticulture and landscape architecture have spent more than 40 years developing turfgrass varieties that improve the quality of lawns, golf courses, sports fields and grass racetracks worldwide.

Tahoma 31, one of OSU’s more recent turfgrass varieties released in 2017, has revolutionized sports stadiums worldwide with its fine texture, dark color, drought and shade tolerance, high density and cold hardiness, making it primed for high-traffic, well-managed areas.

The bermudagrass variety is featured at the U.S. Capitol, Central Park in New York City, dozens of professional and university sports complexes, and more than 150 golf courses across the nation. In the 2026 NFL Players Association report card, NFL players rated Tahoma 31 as the best turfgrass to play on. Its most recent accolade is being featured on fields in 28 of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup games.

“We’re not focused on only one trait,” said Dr. Mingying Xiang, an assistant professor and OSU Extension turf specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. “Normally, we will balance multiple traits to make a variety of good grass.”

The OSU Turfgrass Improvement Team hasn’t slowed down for an instant in the last nine years since Tahoma 31’s release. In 2022, they released Texoma, a bermudagrass ideal for southern climates like Florida and Texas.

And now, the team is revolutionizing home lawns with their latest variety, Endarra 81, released in the spring of 2026. It combines exceptional drought resistance and water conservation with deep, resilient roots.

“Endarra 81 is the most drought-resistant bermudagrass available in the market,” Xiang said.

That exceptional drought resistance starts with Endarra 81’s dense root network. Its thicker roots burrow deep into the soil, and the finer roots capture water. It’s an essential combination that was purposefully developed for this variety. Endarra 81 also has a darker color than most bermudagrasses, sustaining its color later in the season than most other varieties, and has shown strong resistance to leaf spot.

Dr. Yanqi Wu, head of the OSU turfgrass breeding program, estimates that if half of Oklahoma’s 500,000 acres of residential lawns switched to Endarra 81, it could save enough water to fill the 3,350-acre Lake Carl Blackwell six times.

That’s more than 100 billion gallons of water saved annually.

Over 11 years of research brought Endarra 81 to life. Traditionally, the process for releasing a new turfgrass variety takes 10 to 15 years and requires extensive greenhouse, lab and field screening, along with a testing process that can involve more than 10,000 experimental plants.

This gap exists because OSU’s rigorous evaluation process ensures only the highest-quality turfgrass varieties reach the market.

Researchers study bermudagrass genetics and then create experimental lines based on their research findings. Experimental varieties are tested to identify which genetic traits provide the desired physical traits and immunities. OSU scientists then breed turfgrasses with these traits. The turfgrass team studies these varieties for several years to determine if they qualify for the commercial market.

“With a lot of hard work, a great deal of testing and some setbacks, we find the varieties with the right genetic makeup to have strong color, durability, drought resistance, cold hardiness and more,” Wu said. “Breeding and development is a very high-risk venture, and success is not guaranteed.”

But that doesn’t stop the team from continuing work that benefits the economy and the environment.

“We are trying to look beyond turfgrasses by collecting germplasm (genetic material) for plants that would be considered weeds in some places but desirable turf-type plants in other places,” Martin said. “We’re trying to develop cross-disciplinary teams to see what we can salvage from the natural world as urbanization continues, while also looking at what we can provide in terms of what people want.”

In collaboration with scientists from other institutions, the team is studying the use of pollinator-friendly species for use on home lawns in combination with turfgrass.

“There’s a lot of pollinator service plants that tolerate mowing and still flower,” Martin said. “Rather than the one-species monoculture approach, we are looking at multiple species working together in biodiverse lawns, often drawing species from closely grazed prairies.”

The grand opening for the Lionel K. Bentley Turfgrass Center, a new office building for the Turfgrass Improvement Team, was held in June, allowing the team to be housed next door to their research plots. An important factor for the continued success of the turfgrass program’s research will be the creation of new state-of-the-art research facilities for the Agronomy Discovery Center initiative to update the Agronomy Research Station, which will include a new headhouse, research greenhouses and a laboratory building.

“Research programs like our turfgrass improvement effort demonstrate how Oklahoma State invests in today to solve tomorrow’s challenges,” said Dr. Scott Senseman, associate vice president of OSU Ag Research. “The success of varieties like Tahoma 31 and Endarra 81 reflects decades of dedication, but it also points to where we are headed.

“By investing in modern research infrastructure and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration, we are positioning our research programs to lead the next generation of discoveries that benefit Oklahoma and communities around the world.”

Photos by: Mitchell Alcala | Research Matters Magazine

Story By: Alisa Gore | alisa.gore@okstate.edu