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CROP BREEDING, GENETICS & CYTOLOGY

Parent-Progeny Relationships and Genotype x Environment Effects for Factors Associated with Grass Tetany and Forage Quality in Russian Wildrye

^a USDA-ARS, Forage and Range Res. Lab., Utah State Univ., Logan, UT 84322-6300
^b USDA-ARS, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Res. Lab., 3793 N 3600 E, Kimberly, ID 83341
^c Agric and Agri-Food Canada, Semiarid Prairie Agric. Res. Center, P.O. Box 1030, Swift Current, SK, Canada S9H 3X2
^d USDA-ARS, Northern Great Plains Res. Lab., P.O. Box 459, Mandan, ND 58554

* Corresponding author (khasay{at}cc.usu.edu)

Grass tetany (hypomagnesemia) has caused severe economic losses in ruminant animals grazing cool-season grasses, including Russian wildrye [Psathyrostachys juncea (Fisch.) Nevski]. The malady has been associated with deficiencies in Mg, Ca, and carbohydrates, and high levels of K. The K/(Ca + Mg) ratio (KRAT), expressed as moles of charge, is often used to express the grass tetany potential of forage. Development and use of new cultivars with an improved balance of the associated minerals would be an economical approach to reduce the incidence of grass tetany. Objectives of this study were to characterize the genetic variability, genotype by environment interactions, and intercharacter relationships for P, K, Ca, Mg, KRAT, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), among 21 clonal lines of Russian wildrye and their polycross progenies. Evaluations were made for 2 yr at three diverse locations in the USA and Canada. The clonal lines were derived from cultivars and plant introductions. Although the clone x location interaction was usually significant, differences among the clonal lines were significant for K, Ca, Mg, and KRAT, and three forage quality estimates of CP, NDF, and true IVDMD. Although the magnitude of the genetic variability among the progenies was substantially less than that found among the clonal lines, we conclude that the grass tetany potential, CP, NDF, IVDMD, and P concentration of this breeding population can be altered through breeding. Opportunities for genetic improvement in forage quality were particularly favorable for CP. Genetic correlations among the clonal lines suggested that selection for higher levels of CP would be accompanied by increased K, Ca, Mg, and IVDMD and reduced KRAT and NDF.

Abbreviations: CP, crude protein • H, broad-sense heritabilities • h², narrow-sense heritabilities • HSF, half-sib families • NDF, neutral detergent fiber • IVDMD, in vitro dry matter digestibility • KRAT, K/(Ca + Mg) ratio expressed as moles of charge

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Crop Science 2001 41: 1379-1380. [Full Text]  

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