Registration of USDA‐UTWH‐102 Winter‐Hardy Orchardgrass Germplasm

Abstract

The USDA‐ARS announces the release of USDA‐UTWH‐102 orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) (Reg. No. GP‐6, PI 681719) germplasm. USDA‐UTWH‐102 possesses increased winterhardiness and provides utility to applied orchardgrass breeding and genetic programs. USDA‐UTWH‐102 is a 24 clone synthetic derived from orchardgrass collections made at high elevations in central Utah. The selection criteria for USDA‐UTWH‐102 were severity of winter injury and spring recovery (green color) at Panguitch, UT, a cold, high‐elevation location in southern Utah. In comparison to six orchardgrass cultivars (‘Benchmark Plus’, ‘Bruno’, ‘Latar’, ‘Paiute’, ‘Potomac’, and ‘Seco’) in evaluations at Millville and Panguitch, UT, USDA‐UTWG‐102 exhibited less winter injury than all but one cultivar and greater spring recovery than all but two cultivars.

‘USDA‐Yeti’ orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), a new orchardgrass cultivar that combines excellent winterhardiness and agronomic performance

“…In multi‐location and multi‐year field trials, USDA‐Yeti had better winterhardiness than all cultivars but the Canadian cultivar AC Killarney, which was developed for winterhardiness in the harsh Canadian plains (reviewed in Robins et al., 2018). USDA‐Yeti also had high stand establishment and herbage dry mass production, including greater herbage dry mass than AC Killarney, and comparable nutritive value to the other cultivars.…”

“…Fifty‐four half‐sib families from USDA‐UTWH‐102 orchardgrass germplasm (PI 681719), previously released by USDA, were evaluated in seeded row plots for winter injury and herbage yield at Millville and Panguitch, UT, in 2016 (Robins et al., 2018). From this evaluation, nine families were identified among the statistical groupings of families with the least winter injury and the greatest herbage yield.…”

“…However, in more northern and higher‐elevation locations, orchardgrass often suffers from winter injury and mortality (Sanada et al., 2007). Orchardgrass breeding and genetics efforts have resulted in the development of several cultivars with improved winterhardiness (Robins et al., 2018). However, developing winter‐hardy plant materials is complicated by the quantitative nature of the winter‐hardy trait, which is a catch‐all term for the physical, physiological, and biotic factors required for a plant to survive winters characterized by different climatic conditions (Larsen, 1994).…”

Genotype × environment interaction patterns of dry matter yield in meadow brome, orchardgrass, tall fescue, and timothy evaluated at harsh winter sites

“…The meadow brome populations were Armada (SK), Cache (UT; Jensen et al, 2014), CDC Torsion (SK), Paddock (SK; Knowles, 1990), QBP‐1201 (QC), QBP‐1301 (QC), S‐9498 (SK), UTMB‐B (UT), and UTMB‐S (UT). The orchardgrass populations were AC Killarney (SK), AC Early Arctic (SK), Latar (Washington, USA; Alderson & Sharp, 1994), Okay (Ontario, Canada), S‐9485 (SK), SFD‐200102 (SK), SFD‐9601 (SK), UTDG‐101 (UT; Jensen et al, 2014), and USDA UTWH‐102 (UT; Robins et al, 2018). The tall fescue populations were Arido (Washington), Courtenay (British Columbia, Canada), Cowgirl (Oregon, USA), Fawn (Oregon), Kokanee (BC), S‐9582 (SK), and Tower (Canada).…”