STILLWATER, Okla. –
A piece of Oklahoma will be on display during the biggest game in soccer.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will be played on bermudagrass developed by Oklahoma State University researchers in Stillwater.
Dr. Yanqi Wu, a Regents Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Oklahoma State University, said he’s spent decades developing bermudagrass varieties that are now used around the world.
“Our grass varieties are used in 20 countries,” Professor Wu said. “Countries like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Portugal, France, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.”
That global reach has put grass developed at OSU on some of the biggest stages in sports.
Bermudagrass developed by Oklahoma State University’s turfgrass program has been featured at the Kentucky Derby, the World Cup, the Olympics, the PGA Championship and at the U.S. Capitol.
Researches said the program’s global success comes from decades of research focused on improving turf quality, cold hardiness and the ability of the grass to recover after heavy use.
“We improved several important things. One thing is high turf quality,” Wu explained. “Another cold hardiness, which allows the grass to be used in much larger areas and survive cold winters. We also improved traffic tolerance, especially the ability to recover after injuries. Sports fields have traffic damage, but our grasses recover exceptionally well because we have tested them.”
The success of OSU’s turfgrass program did not happen overnight.
The breeding program started in 1986 after decades of grass research and genetic collection.
Since then, researchers said they have developed grasses that can withstand heavy use, making them ideal for sports fields around the world.
“We use genetic resources from many places around the world,” Wu said. “That large genetic diversity allows us to improve grasses based on natural variation.”
Dr. Wu said support from organizations like the U.S. Golf Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Oklahoma agricultural programs helped to expand this research.
That research will continue at OSU’s new Turfgrass Research Center to help expand turfgrass studies and to train the next generation of researchers in the industry.
OSU researchers said while seeing their hard work on the world stage is exciting, they’re now focusing on developing new varieties of grass that require less water and can better withstand drought.
“I’m excited to help homeowners grow grasses that save a lot of water,” Wu said. “We try to develop new varieties to save irrigation water and help them deal with drought and warming.”
For Wu, the future of turfgrass isn’t just about major sports fields but about creating grasses that can help people save water.
