HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Related articles in Crop Science Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Casler, M. D. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Casler, M. D. Agricola Articles by Casler, M. D. Related Collections Other Forage Crops Plant Genetic Resources

PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES

Patterns of Variation in a Collection of Timothy Accessions

Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1597

* Corresponding author (mdcasler{at}facstaff.wisc.edu)

Cultivated timothy (Phleum pratense L.) is an important grass for hay production in temperate North America. It is under utilized in management-intensive rotational grazing systems because of its poor persistence when frequently defoliated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the USDA-NPGS collection of timothy accessions for agronomic traits, including persistence under frequent defoliation. Unlike previous reports for infrequent harvest systems, diploid and tetraploid species of Phleum were similar in forage yield to hexaploid P. pratense, suggesting their potential value in livestock agriculture. Cultivated accessions tended to have fewer, but larger leaves; longer and narrower panicles with a greater number of smaller seeds; lower survival under frequent defoliation; and higher forage yield than natural accessions. A considerable amount of phenotypic variation among accessions was explained by geographic source of the accessions. Twenty-one unique phenotypic clusters were formed to account for 50% of the phenotypic variability among accessions, providing the basis for development of a core collection for P. pratense. Clusters were highly differentiated on the basis of geographic origin of the accessions, underscoring the potential importance of the relationship between phenotype and geography in hexaploid timothy.

Abbreviations: SEC, standard error of calibration • SEV, standard error of validation

Related articles in Crop Science:

This issue in Crop science

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

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. D. Casler Agronomic Performance of Timothy Germplasm from Forage and Turf Sods under Two Harvest Managements Crop Sci., August 26, 2005; 45(5): 1990 - 1996. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]