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a USDA-ARS, 344 Keim Hall, P.O. Box 830937, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0937
b D.D. Baltensperger, Panhandle Research & Extension Center, University of Nebraska, 4502 Ave. I, Scottsbluff, NE 69361-4939
c High Plains Grasslands Research Station, USDA-ARS, 8408 Hildreth Road, Cheyenne, WY 82009-8899
d KSU Agricultural Research Center and Dep. Biological Sciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS 67601
* Corresponding author (kpv{at}unlserve.unl.edu)
‘Beefmaker’ intermediate wheatgrass [Elytrigia intermedia (Host) Nevski subsp. intermedia = Thinopyrum intermedium subsp. intermedium (Host) Barkw. & D.R. Dewey] (Reg. no. CV-26, PI 634505) is a broadly adapted cultivar that produces forage with high in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and high protein concentration in the tall, mid-grass, and short-grass ecoregions of the central Great Plains, USA. It was released in January 2003 by the USDA, Agricultural Research Service and the Agricultural Research Division, Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska. Beefmaker was tested as NE TI1 C1.
Beefmaker intermediate wheatgrass was developed from six plant introductions (PI 345586, PI 273733, PI 273732, PI 315353, PI 315067, and PI 3155355) that were identified as having superior agronomic performance in the central Great Plains in a germplasm evaluation (Vogel, 1980). Approximately 40 plants from each PI strain were subdivided into ramets and were transplanted into separate, isolated polycross nurseries in 1978 at the University of Nebraska's Agricultural Research and Development Center near Ithaca, NE, where all subsequent selection and polycross research was conducted. Seed was harvested in bulk in 1979 from each of the polycross nurseries. This seed was used to establish space-transplanted selection nurseries in 1980 for each strain using greenhouse grown seedlings. Each selection nursery contained approximately 1000 plants. In 1981, approximately 100 plants were visually selected in each nursery for forage yield, leafiness, erectness, and absence of diseases by using a modified form of restricted recurrent phenotypic selection (RRPS) (Burton, 1974). The visually selected plants were harvested for forage yield and sampled for IVDMD analysis. A selection index that equally weighted forage yield and IVDMD was used to select 20 plants from each population (total of 120 plants). Two ramets of each of the 120 plants were transplanted into an isolated polycross nursery in 1983. Seed was harvested from individual plants in 1984 and equally bulked to form experimental strain NE TI1. This Syn 1 seed was used to establish a seeded nursery in 1985 for the production of Syn 2 seed which was used to initiate the first cycle of selection for the synthesized population.
A space-transplanted selection nursery containing 1100 plants was established in 1987 using greenhouse grown seedlings started with Syn 2 seed. A modified form of RRPS was used on this selection nursery. Three hundred plants were visually selected for harvest in 1988. These plants were harvested on an individual plant basis after spike emergence and were analyzed for IVDMD. A selection index was again used to identify plants with both superior yield and IVDMD. Sixty-five plants were selected for polycrossing and were subdivided into two ramets each and transplanted into an isolated polycross nursery in 1991. Seed harvested from this nursery was designated NE TI1 C1 Syn 1, and it was used to establish regional tests and a 400 m2 increase nursery in 1999 which produced 18.6 kg of Breeder seed in 2000.
Beefmaker was tested across several ecoregions (Bailey, 1995) in the central Great Plains, specifically at the following sites: Prairie (Ithaca, NE), Steppe (Hays, KS), and Dry Steppe (Sidney, NE, and Cheyenne, WY) during the period 1993–1995. Beefmaker had the highest IVDMD and protein concentration averaged over ecoregions. Beefmaker forage averaged 7–20 g kg–1 greater IVDMD than forage of other released cultivars of intermediate wheatgrass in these trials. Beefmaker forage yields were lower than the yields of ‘Haymaker’ but were similar to yields of other released cultivars of intermediate wheatgrass. The improved forage quality of Beefmaker was stable across a wide array of ecoregions. In a previous grazing trial with intermediate wheatgrass at Ithaca in which Beefmaker's parent strain, NE TI1, was included, a one percentile or 10 g kg–1 increase in IVDMD resulted in a 25 kg ha–1 improvement in total gains of beef yearling stockers (Moore et al., 1995; Casler and Vogel, 1999). Beefmaker will be recommended for use in pastures in the central Great Plains for growing beef cattle.
Beefmaker has an erect growth habit and has rhizomes typical of intermediate wheatgrass. Its culms and leaves are glabrous and non-glacuous and leaf margins are smooth. Leaves are green-yellow or Munsell 5GY 5/4 (Munsell Color, 1977). Sheaths have ligules, very small auricles, and smooth sheath margins. Spikes are oblong, erect, and have green, lanceolate glumes. Spike density is lax. Anthers are yellow. At 41° N lat. in the central Great Plains, Beefmaker is at anthesis during the last week of June. In swards at Ithaca, its spike and flag leaf height are about 5 and 3 cm, respectively, shorter in height than the intermediate wheatgrass cultivars Luna, Manska, Reliant, and Oahe. Beefmaker is adapted to USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3, 4, and 5.
Breeder seed will be jointly maintained and produced as needed by USDA-ARS and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with random-mated isolations based on the Syn 2 Breeder seed produced in 2000. Foundation seed production of Beefmaker will be managed by the Nebraska Foundation Seed Division, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583. Foundation seed will be made available for Certified seed production on a non-exclusive basis to seed producers who contractually agree to produce and market the seed only as Certified seed using the cultivar name Beefmaker. A technology development and transfer fee will be assessed by the University of Nebraska. Seed of this release will be deposited in the National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-ARS, 2004) where it will be available for research purposes. Limited amounts of seed for research purposes will be provided on written request to the corresponding author. Recipients are asked to recognize the source if it contributes to the development of a cultivar or germplasm or is used for other research purposes. Application for U.S. Plant Variety Protection is pending.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Appreciation for the technical support of Keith Glewen, James Kube, Patrick Callahan, Steve Masterson, Marty Schmer, and Kevin Grams is acknowledged.
NOTES
Accepted for publication June 30, 2004.
REFERENCES
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  J. G. Robins, B. L. Waldron, K. P. Vogel, J. D. Berdahl, M. R. Haferkamp, K. B. Jensen, T. A. Jones, R. Mitchell, and B. K. Kindiger Characterization of Testing Locations for Developing Cool-Season Grass Species Crop Sci., May 31, 2007; 47(3): 1004 - 1012. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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K.P. Vogel, D. Tober, P.E. Reece, D.D. Baltsensperger, G. Schuman, and R.A. Nicholson Registration of 'Haymaker' Intermediate Wheatgrass Crop Sci., January 1, 2005; 45(1): 415 - 416. [Full Text] [PDF]
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