
Pact May Lead
to Heartier, Multipurpose Bluegrass By Luis Pons May 19, 2003Imagine blending Texas bluegrass'
tolerance to heat and drought with the turf and forage qualities of Kentucky
bluegrass. Such a mix is among the many goals stated in a new cooperative research and
development agreement that will focus on wide-cross hybrids of bluegrasses. The
bluegrass, or Poa, hybrids will be developed under the research
agreement by the Agricultural Research Service's
Grazinglands Research Laboratory in El
Reno, Okla., and Barenbrug USA, a grass seed company in Tangent, Ore. ARS hopes the new hybrid grasses will
be used as forage for livestock grazing and for land reclamation. Barenbrug USA
seeks to provide its customers with better-adapted bluegrass varieties through
turf- and forage-breeding projects emphasizing the transfer of drought- and
heat-tolerant genes from Texas bluegrass to other Poa species. Plant geneticist Bryan K. Kindiger will be the project's lead ARS scientist.
The research will revolve around Texas bluegrass, P. arachnifera, a
drought-tolerant perennial native to Oklahoma, Texas and southern Kansas. Texas
bluegrass is of the same genus as other bluegrass species, including the
Kentucky variety, P. pratensis, one of the world's most important
perennial turf and productive forage bluegrass species. Texas bluegrass' most attractive trait is that it reproduces sexually,
making it a notable exception among the Poa species. Most other
bluegrass types reproduce by apomixis, which limits their capacity for genetic
change and the efficient breeding of agronomically useful Poa cultivars.
The agreement is scheduled to last from three to five years. Trials will be
performed at sites in Oklahoma, Virginia and Oregon. ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's chief scientific research agency. U.S. Department of Agriculture |