Registration of ‘Trailhead’ Basin Wildrye

Abstract

Basin wildrye is a native, cool-season, perennial bunchgrass adapted to deep, well-drained soils of the prairies and foothills of the western USA and Canada. In zones of lesser precipitation, basin wildrye is found in run-in areas or along gullies and intermittent water courses. This grass is broadly adapted to elevations from 600 to 2750 m, and where average annual precipitation ranges from 200 to 500 mm. It is very winterhardy and drought tolerant, and has good tolerance to acidity, alkalinity, and salinity (6). Stems are typically erect, stiff, and stout and 100 to 200 tall, but can reach heights of 300 croon good sites. Leaves of this species are firm and fiat, up to 2 cm wide and 50 to 76 cm in length. The seed heads (spikes) are 10 to 25 cm long and erect, with three to six spikelets per node and persistent awnlike glumes. Trailhead originated from line M-27, which was mass-selected from vigorous, indigenous basin wildrye plants near Roundup, MT, in 1959. This silty range site is at 1100 m elevation, and receives 250 to 355 mm of precipitation annually. Seed from more than 200 plants was bulked to form line M-27. From 1960 through 1990, USDA-NRCS established 172 basin wildrye field accessions in unreplicated observation trials (field plantings) under dryland conditions at the Bridger Plant Materials Center. These accessions were collected in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. These lines were evaluated visually for establishment, vigor, and production potential. Based on superior performance, a seed-increase field of line M-27 was established at Bridger, MT, in 1961. Line M-27 was planted on 0.4 ha under isolation, and breeder seed (Syn 1) was produced from 1962 through 1969. The name Trailhead was derived from the proximity of the collection site to the origin of the 1989 Montana Centennial Cattle Drive. Trailhead has been evaluated in 105 NRCS field plantings throughout Montana and Wyoming. It has been evaluated for use as wildlife habitat, mineland reclamation, winter livestock grazing, stabilization, field barriers, and reclamation of saline or acidic soils. Trailhead consistently had superior establishment, vigor, and persistence at arid sites compared with other basin wildrye lines, including 'Magnar', the only other known cuitivar of basin wildrye (1). Replicated forage yield trials of Trailhead have been conducted at Bridger, Bozeman, Cardwell, and Moccasin, MT. In five trials at sites receiving >350 mm of precipitation annually, mean forage yields of Trailhead (100%) and Magnar (107%) were not significantly different (P = 0.05). However, at one site receiving less than 250 mm of annual precipitation, forage yields over a 6-yr period for Trailhead were significantly (P = 0.10) higher than those Magnar. Trailhead basin wildrye was released based on its superior performance under dry conditions. Trailhead is recommended for range and disturbed-site reclamation in the western USA and Canada. The major use of Trailhead is for late summer or winter grazing by livestock and wildlife (2).

Role of Mycorrhizal Fungi and Phosphorus in the Arsenic Tolerance of Basin Wildrye

“…This cultivar is considered to have better establishment, higher productivity, and greater persistence in arid conditions than other basin wildrye lines, including the other main available cultivar (Magnar). The Trailhead variety was released in 1991 and originates from indigenous plants of a nonmined subirrigated range site near Roundup, Montana (Cash et al, 1998; Majerus, 1992; USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, 2002). The soils of the range site are silty and have been classified as Korchea series (fine‐loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, frigid Mollic Ustifluvents).…”

“…A cool‐season perennial bunchgrass native to western North America, it has adapted to a broad range of soils and is productive even under moisture limiting conditions (Stubbendieck et al, 1997). Basin wildrye is winter hardy and relatively tolerant of acid, alkaline, and saline soil conditions (Smoliak et al, 1990) and it demonstrates good establishment from seed producing large (1–3 m) plants with fibrous roots (Cash et al, 1998).…”

Genetic Dissection of Seed Production Traits and Identification of a Major‐Effect Seed Retention QTL in Hybrid Leymus (Triticeae) Wildryes

“…Basin wildrye is an unusually tall caespitose grass, capable of growing up to 3 m high, and is considered one of the largest native grasses in western North America (Lesperance et al, 1978; Evans and Young, 1983; Cash et al, 1998). Basin wildrye displays deep and extensive fibrous root systems (Reynolds and Fraley, 1989; Abbott et al, 1991), adaptation to saline and nonsaline soils (Lesperance et al, 1978; Young and Evans, 1981; Miller et al, 1982; Roundy, 1983; Roundy et al, 1985), and unusual resource efficiency with extended seasonal photosynthetic capacity (Anderson et al, 1995).…”

“…Basin wildrye displays deep and extensive fibrous root systems (Reynolds and Fraley, 1989; Abbott et al, 1991), adaptation to saline and nonsaline soils (Lesperance et al, 1978; Young and Evans, 1981; Miller et al, 1982; Roundy, 1983; Roundy et al, 1985), and unusual resource efficiency with extended seasonal photosynthetic capacity (Anderson et al, 1995). Basin wildrye is widely distributed throughout western North America (Barkworth et al, 2007) and natural germplasm sources of basin wildrye are cultivated for seed used in rangeland revegetation and mine reclamation (Cash et al, 1998; Richards et al, 1998; Neuman and Schafer, 2006). Basin wildrye is also considered valuable native forage grass in the Great Basin and other regions of western North America (Ganskopp et al, 1996, 1997; Cash et al, 1998; Ganskopp and Bohnert, 2001), which may be particularly useful as winter feedstock (Majerus, 1992; Jensen et al, 2002).…”

Development and Testing of Cool-Season Grass Species, Varieties and Hybrids for Biomass Feedstock Production in Western North America

“…The BWR populations included 8X 'Continental', 4X 'Trailhead', and 8X 'Magnar' in addition to one natural 4X population Acc:636 collected near Lethbridge, Alberta sometime prior to 1974 by Sylvester Smoliak. 'Trailhead' originated from a natural population near Roundup, Montana and was released in 1991 [49]. 'Magnar' originated from a natural population in south-eastern British Columbia and was released sometime before 1995 [50].…”