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Kentucky Bluegrass Automatic Hybridization Apparatus

Dep. of Horticulture Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0724

J. E. Watkins and J. P. Behling

Dep. of Plant Pathology, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0724
Dep. of Horticulture, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706

^* Corresponding author.

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is a major turfgrass species of the cool, humid region of the USA. Breeding improvement has been hampered because of its high percentage of apomictic seed production and an anthesis time that occurs during the middle of the night. In an effort to produce larger number of hybrids, an automatic hybridization apparatus was developed to facilitate Kentucky bluegrass hybridization. The apparatus was built from easily obtained materials and was designed to allow (i) suspension of one plant above another, (ii) environmental modification of the lower plant, (iii) control of pollen dispersal, (iv) a moderately large number of different crosses to be attempted, and (v) easy set-up and dependability. When compared with hand pollination this automatic hybridization apparatus gave a lower percentage of hybrids, but was more efficient in total number of hybrid plants produced.

Key Words: Apomictic seed development • Poa pratensis L. • Cultivars • Intraspecific hybridization • Apomixis

Received for publication March 11, 1987.