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or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Hybrid bermudagrass is the major perennial warm-season forage grown across the upper South (Burns et al., 2004). ‘Coastal ’ bermudagrass is widely distributed across the Coastal Plain and into the Central Piedmont Region of North Carolina (Gross et al., 1966; Burns et al., 1984). Periodic low temperatures during the winter in the Piedmont, however, can cause severe stand thinning resulting in weedy-grass inva-sion and reduced summer production. Th e release of ‘Tift on 44 ’ bermudagrass (T44) provided a perennial hybrid with improved cold tolerance (Burton and Monson, 1978) and with good winter survival reported as far north as northern Illinois (Faix et al., 1981). When established in the Piedmont of Nort