UTDG-101, a Late-Maturing Orchardgrass Germplasm with Increased Winter Hardiness and Forage Quality

Abstract

The USDA–ARS announces the public release of the orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) UTDG‐101 germplasm (Reg. No. GP‐5, PI 672006) as a late‐maturing grass with excellent forage quality and increased winter tolerance for use in orchardgrass breeding programs. Selection emphasis in UTDG‐101 was for late maturity, winter hardiness, and dry matter yield. UTDG‐101 traces back to polycross seed that originated from crosses among four orchardgrass collections (PI 659612, PI 659613, W6 20243, and W6 20247) made within 100 km west‐southwest of Zhaosu County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. UTDG‐101 is more genetically distinct than orchardgrass cultivars Paiute, Pennlate, and Benchmark. UTDG‐101 has significantly (P < 0.05) longer flag leaves than the orchardgrass cultivars examined in this study. Based on mitotic root counts, UTDG‐101 is an autotetraploid (2n = 4x = 28). In forage harvested May 2011, UTDG‐101 had significantly higher crude protein, relative feed value, sugars, water‐soluble carbohydrates (WSC; sugars + fructans), and digestibility and significantly lower acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Forage of UTDG‐101 harvested July 2011 had significantly lower NDF and increased fructan, sugar, and WSC concentrations. UTDG‐101 exhibited significantly less winter injury than other orchardgrass, tall fescue [Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort.], and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) cultivars. Due to the high combining ability, late maturity, increased forage quality, and winter hardiness of UTDG‐101, this source of germplasm could provide genetic resources for developing late‐maturing orchardgrass with increased forage quality and reduced winter injury for management with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) mixtures or for grazing.

Late‐heading parental selection in orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.)

“…woronowii that originated from the former Soviet Union, and cultivar Toyomidori that originated from Central and East Asian sources (Nakayama et al., 2002). All three have been reported to persist and produce forage under abiotic stress and have late HDs (Bushman et al., 2012, 2019; Jensen et al., 2014). Thirty‐three plants from each source were planted in a Latin Square design at the Utah State University Evans Farm, Millville, UT (41°41′52″ N, 111°49′53″ W; 1378 m above sea level; 432 mm annual precipitation; Nibley silty clay loam soil [fi, ne, mixed, mesic, Aquic Argistolls]) in 2015, allowed to open pollinate, and bulk harvested by the three maternal sources.…”

“…A parental breeding population was derived from three germplasm sources: UTDG101 that originated from Xinjiang Province in China (Jensen et al., 2014), PI538922 D. glomerata subsp. woronowii that originated from the former Soviet Union, and cultivar Toyomidori that originated from Central and East Asian sources (Nakayama et al., 2002).…”

“…woronowii that originated from the former Soviet Union, and cultivar Toyomidori that originated from Central and East Asian sources (Nakayama et al, 2002). All three have been reported to persist and produce forage under abiotic stress and have late HDs (Bushman et al, 2012(Bushman et al, , 2019Jensen et al, 2014 [Fine-silty, mixed, active, mesic Typic Calcixerolls]). Each location had four replications of 94 HS-families arranged in a randomized block design with 10 plants in single row plots for each replication, spaced at 0.5 m within rows and 1 m between rows.…”

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

“…Our perennial, cool‐season grass breeding programs (QC, SK, and UT) work to improve these four species and we each contributed cultivars and/or breeding populations that were check cultivars commonly used for commercial forage production in our target regions or breeding populations from our breeding efforts. 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).…”

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

“…USDA‐Yeti was compared with the cultivars AC Killarney, ‘AC Kootenay’, ‘Bruno’, ‘Icon’, ‘Intensive’, Potomac, and ‘Seco’, and the improved germplasm UTDG‐101 for stand establishment, herbage dry mass, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, digestible neutral detergent fiber, in vitro true dry matter digestibility, crude protein, and water‐soluble carbohydrate during 2019 and 2020 (Jensen et al., 2014). Plots were seeded in August 2018 at the Cache and Davis locations and in November 2018 at the Cassia location (Table 1; Figure 1).…”