Cultivar × binary mixture interaction effect on agronomic traits in orchardgrass

Abstract

A study was conducted from 2009 to 2012 to evaluate and characterize the agronomic value of seven agronomic traits, including dry matter yield and forage quality of 25 orchardgrass cultivars grown in monoculture and binary mixtures with alfalfa. The irrigated Millville, UT, USA (41°41′24″N, 111°49′48″W) field site was characterized by a semiarid climate and elevation over 1300 m. The cultivar × mixture interaction was significant for all traits but flag leaf height, and contained a substantial crossover component among the cultivars. Differences among cultivar means were significant for all traits in both the monoculture and mixture settings. Yet, concordance for high cultivar performance in both monoculture and mixture was low. Thus, the strong underlying cultivar × mixture interaction found in this study complicates the identification of best cultivars in both settings. Yet, for each trait cultivars were identified that possessed statistically high phenotypic performance under the monoculture and mixed sward conditions. Thus, despite the substantial cultivar × environment effect, it should be possible to develop orchardgrass cultivars with improved agronomic performance under both management conditions.

Heterosis for protein, digestibility, fiber, and water soluble carbohydrates in nine sources of orchardgrass germplasm

“…The phenotypic values calculated for the traits measured in this study are consistent with previous irrigated orchardgrass evaluation for both magnitude and range (Xie et al 2014b). To avoid the confounding effect of reproductive growth that arises due to differences in heading date of the entries and the corresponding nutritive values, the analyses only included data from the mid-(July) and late-summer (August) harvests.…”

Genetic Variation for Dry Matter Yield, Forage Quality, and Seed Traits Among the Half‐Sib Progeny of Nine Orchardgrass Germplasm Populations

“…The collection and drying of subsamples from each plot provided the moisture percentage for the adjustment of fresh plot weights to a dry matter basis and the calculation of DMY (kg ha -1 ). on hay rather than pasture production (Escribano and Robins, 2014;Xie et al, 2014b). Thus, carbohydrate levels in the dried forage were consistent with hayed, rather than grazed, orchardgrass.…”

“…The dried subsamples also provided the material for analysis of forage quality measurement, including crude protein (CP), in vitro true digestibility (IVTD), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and water‐soluble carbohydrate content (WSC), all calculated in grams per kilogram of dry matter. Flash freezing of samples with liquid nitrogen did not occur because the study was based on hay rather than pasture production (Escribano and Robins, 2014; Xie et al, 2014b). Thus, carbohydrate levels in the dried forage were consistent with hayed, rather than grazed, orchardgrass.…”

Plant Breeding for Intercropping in Temperate Field Crop Systems: A Review

“…When planting alfalfa with or without a grass companion, Zannone et al (1986) found the best mixtures were composed of the highest-yielding genotypes when planted in monoculture, indicating a lack of GxM interaction. However, other studies in white clover ( Dijkstra and De Vos, 1972 ; Caradus et al, 1989 ; Annicchiarico, 2003 ), alfalfa ( Maamouri et al, 2017 ) and orchardgrass ( Dactylis glomerata ; Xie et al, 2014 ) have found low correlation or significant GxM interaction between mixtures and monocultures. In general, less work has focused on genetic variation and GxM interaction in grasses than in legumes ( Waldron et al, 2017 ).…”