Agronomic evaluation of the results of selection within late-maturing Dactylis glomerata populations

Authors: Robins, Joseph; Bushman, Shaun; Jensen, Kevin

Submitted to: Agronomy Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2021
Publication Date: 7/3/2021
Citation: Robins, J.G., Bushman, B.S., Jensen, K.B. 2021. Agronomic evaluation of the results of selection within late-maturing Dactylis glomerata populations. Agronomy Journal. 11(7). Article 1362. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11071362.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11071362

Interpretive Summary: Sixty-three families from a late-maturing orchardgrass population were evaluated for maturity, forage yield, and forage quality at two Cache County, UT field sites in 2013 and 2014. The orchardgrass was managed under frequent and infrequent harvest intervals to imitate grazing and hay production settings. There were differences among the orchardgrass families for their relative performance at each location individually. However, the different harvest intervals did not affect the relative performance of the orchardgrass families. Overall, the population showed great potential for further plant breeding work and some individual families showed greater trait performance than the included check varieties.

Technical Abstract: Selection from novel orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) germplasm sources resulted in the development of a late maturing orchardgrass population. Sixty-three families comprise this population and were evaluated under frequent and infrequent harvest intervals at two Cache County, UT, USA field locations during 2013 and 2014. The objective of this study was to characterize the performance of the individual families when compared to the check cultivars ‘Intensive’, and ‘Latar’. Across locations and harvest intervals individual families produced greater herbage dry mass and nutritive value than the check cultivars. However, there were substantial genotype by environment interactions between the families and locations but not harvest intervals. Because of this, results were analyzed across harvest intervals, but within locations. Within each location, there were families that possessed similar or greater maturity, herbage dry mass, in vitro true digestibility, and neutral detergent fiber digestibility at both locations. Overall, based on the performance of its component families, this late maturing orchardgrass population exhibited potential for developing improved cultivars across a broad-based target environment.