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This photo taken Wednesday, July 17, 2024, shows Brigham Young University professor Bryan Hopkins talking with his students at the hybrid Bermuda grass research plot on BYU’s campus.

Courtesy Jaren Wilkey, Brigham Young University

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This undated photo shows what a turf grass test plot looked like after six weeks with no water. Hybrid Bermuda grass, top, stayed green while Kentucky bluegrass, bottom, dried out.

Courtesy Bryan Hopkins, Brigham Young University

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This photo taken Wednesday, July 17, 2024, shows drought-tolerant hybrid Bermuda grass tested by Brigham Young University researchers.

Courtesy Jaren Wilkey, Brigham Young University

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A type of grass that can last six weeks without water has been given the green light by the state of Utah.

Researchers at Brigham Young University believe it can play a critical role in the water conservation efforts, something that would come in handy amid recent extreme heat across Utah. They also had a hand in the state’s recent approval.

For nearly 20 years, BYU professor Bryan Hopkins and colleagues have tested the feasibility of hybrid Bermuda grass in Utah. What they learned was that it only needed a fraction of the water to survive compared to traditional grass grown in Utah, like Kentucky bluegrass.

Hopkins has been working closely with fellow BYU professor Neil Hansen and with the assistance of BYU Grounds Director Glenl Wear in looking at the viability of hybrid Bermuda grass. He said they tested it last summer against Kentucky bluegrass by shutting off the water on two grass test plots. He said the hybrid Bermuda grass stayed green and healthy, while the Kentucky bluegrass went brown in about a week.

“We were really kind of shocked that it was able to survive that long,” Hopkins told the Daily Herald.

At the end of six weeks, they watered the hybrid Bermuda grass, then went another six weeks before they watered it again. The grass sustained its health throughout that duration, a press release states.

However, hybrid Bermuda grass wasn’t approved in Utah due to its cousin, common Bermuda grass, which is considered an invasive weed in the state and is only allowed in Washington County, according to the release.

Hybrid Bermuda grass is the top turfgrass species used on lawns and golf courses in the southern United States.

Hopkins, along with fellow researchers and colleagues from Utah State University, worked together to have hybrid Bermuda grass removed from the Utah’s Department of Agriculture and Food’s noxious weed list.

They appealed to the Noxious Weed Board of UDAF to allow the grass for commercial and private use.

“The problem was that they didn’t previously distinguish between common Bermuda grass, which is, you know, arguably (an) obnoxious weed, and hybrid Bermuda grass,” Hopkins said. “So we just asked, petitioned them to separate them and just keep common Bermuda grass on the noxious weed list but allow hybrid Bermuda grass, and so they basically delisted from that noxious weed list.”

The state took it forward as a potential rule change earlier this year, and after a 45-day comment period made the change official Monday, the release stated.

After decades of research, the approval comes as a sign of victory in the effort to conserve water.

“I think it would be great even for people who don’t care about water conservation but care about money conservation and want to save a little bit on their water bills,” said Ashley Beazer, a BYU grad student. “As water becomes more scarce in our state, (fees) are gonna go up and it’s gonna be expensive to water your landscape, so anything you can do to cut back, people are gonna want that.”

Beazer notes that more research is needed to determine the least amount of watering hybrid Bermuda grass requires.

“What we’ve seen so far is awesome and it’s really exciting, but there’s still more to figure out. And we don’t know exactly how much (water) this grass needs, and we don’t know all the details, but we’re excited to keep studying it,” Beazer said.

Hopkins said that a goal in the next phase of the research is quantifying how much water the turfgrass needs and ultimately how much could be conserved.

However, he believes it could reduce outdoor water consumption by as much as 50% to 60%.

“This is a critical need in Utah with the preponderance of drought conditions, water scarcity and concerns for the possible demise of the Great Salt Lake. I can’t help but be a little proud, especially of my students,” Hopkins said in the release.