Ryegrass & Orchard Grass

Ryegrass Breeding

Incorporation of gray leaf spot resistance into Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum)

Magnaporthe oryzae is the causal agent of gray leaf spot (GLS), a common grass disease. One objective of our breeding program is to breed GLS resistance into Italian ryegrass and annual ryegrass cultivars.

We are currently in a testing agreement with PGG Wrightson for evaluation of 2 populations in Brazil.

6 of our experimental ryegrass cultivars are involved in regional testing in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.

Species diversity in orchardgrass

Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) is a forage crop with mixed ploidy. Orchardgrass can exist as a diploid (2n=2x=14), tetraploid (2n=4x=28) and hexaploid (2n=6x=42). Improved cultivars of orchardgrass are tetraploid species.

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