The Noble Foundation hardinggrass (Phalaris aquatica) breeding program

Abstract

Hardinggrass has the potential to provide grazing during the fall to spring months in the south central USA. Here we describe a breeding program focused on developing improved hardinggrass cultivars for this region. More than 300 accessions were evaluated for persistence under heavy grazing in Oklahoma. The most promising of these accessions were evaluated for genetic diversity using AFLP markers. Accessions clustered closely in agreement with geographic origins with populations from Morocco representing a potentially novel source of germplasm. Two distinct breeding populations were constructed using this information. Additional populations, constructed using recurrent selection for survival under heavy grazing, have shown significantly greater persistence than currently available cultivars including 'Grasslands Maru'. Research is underway to develop high throughput methods to profile alkaloid composition and concentration in hardinggrass. These methods will be applied to determine genotype and genotype x environment effects on alkaloid composition of elite breeding populations and commercial cultivars. Results of these evaluations, along with animal safety trials, will be critical in determining which populations to release as improved hardinggrass cultivars for the south central USA.