In a previous experiment, regenerated plants of bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge) derived from a suspension culture were observed to be higher in digestible cell wall content than compared to the control cultivar (cv. Pensacola). This suggested that somaclonal variation, mediated from suspension culture, could be a tool to induce improved feeding value of bahiagrass. In this study, dry matter production and digestibility of backcross 1 (BC1) progeny derived from this earlier study were examined in field conditions. The field study indicated that more than half of the BC1 individuals were higher in dry matter yield than the regenerated plants (RP), while most of the BC1 individuals were lower in dry matter yield than the original Pensacola cultivar (PEN). However, some strains of the BC1 exhibited a dry matter production that was comparable with PEN. Overall, in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) was generally higher in RP than in PEN. Although there was not a distinct difference in IVDMD between the BC1 and PEN, some BC1 individuals exhibited a higher IVDMD than PEN throughout the experiment. From these results, it is suggested that strains with higher digestibility could selected from BC1 progenies of bahiagrass following suspension culture and that trait is expressed in field conditions.
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