timothy

Bijeenkomst: EGF2015
Auteur: Goliński P. and Golińska B.
ISBN: 978-9090-289-61-8
Jaar van uitgifte: 2015
Producttype: Paper
The objective of this work was to analyse the differentiation of selected cultivars within five pasture grass species with regard to leaf tensile strength (LTS). The investigations were carried out in 2011- 2012 on plant material obtained from two cultivar testing experiments, in which Dactylis glomerata (10 cultivars), Festuca arundinacea (10 cvs), Festuca pratensis (15 cvs), Lolium perenne (16 2× and 15 4× cvs) and Phleum pratense (10 cvs) were analysed. LTS was estimated on fully developed leaf blades using a prototype testing stand for measuring tensile strength of biological material, designed on the basis of a subassemblies of the Höttinger Baldwin Messtechnik (HBM) Company. The fresh matter and dry matter weight, width and specific leaf area of leaf blades were also determined. The LTS of investigated species ranged from 4.06 N (L. perenne 2×) to 12.46 N (D. glomerata). The differentiation of cultivars within species was also high and statistically significant. Performance of precise tensile strength measurements of leaf blades could be a helpful plant breeding tool for the development of improved pasture grass cultivars and selection of appropriate components in seed mixtures, particularly in high output dairy farming systems.

Bijeenkomst: EGF2015
Auteur: Seppänen M.M., Jokela V., Uusitalo T., Korhonen P. and Virkajärvi P.
ISBN: 978-9090-289-61-8
Jaar van uitgifte: 2015
Producttype: Paper
Depending on the grass species, development of stem-forming tillers is strictly regulated by temperature and/or day length (DL). We studied the regulation of tiller development and growth of timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and festulolium (Festuca × Lolium) by vernalisation, temperature and DL in field and growth chamber experiments. Our results show that there exists significant genotypic variation in traits important for biomass accumulation in different harvests. It seems that the extent of the spring growth flush is dependent on the vernalisation state of the plants. In autumn, growth in timothy is strictly regulated by DL, whereas in festulolium temperature is a more important regulator. Knowledge of these differences between grass species in their responses to environmental cues, and understanding of the genetic variation in these traits, provide unique opportunities for breeding as well as for the selection of best-performing genotypes for forage leys.