Cultivar × binary mixture interaction effect on agronomic traits in orchardgrass. (25th March 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xie, Wengang; Robins, Joseph G.; Escribano, Sandra; Bushman, B. Shaun; Zhang, Xinquan
• Is Part Of: Grassland science. Volume 60:Number 2(2014:Jun.)
• Page Start: 104
• Page End: 111
• Publication Date: 2014-03-25
• Subjects: Grasslands -- Periodicals; Grasslands -- Management -- Periodicals; 578.74
• DOI: 10.1111/grs.12047
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-6961

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="grs12047-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>A study was conducted from 2009 to 2012 to evaluate and characterize the agronomic value of seven agronomic traits, including dry matter yield and forage quality of 25 orchardgrass cultivars grown in monoculture and binary mixtures with alfalfa. The irrigated Millville, UT, USA (41°41′24″N, 111°49′48″W) field site was characterized by a semiarid climate and elevation over 1300 m. The cultivar × mixture interaction was significant for all traits but flag leaf height, and contained a substantial crossover component among the cultivars. Differences among cultivar means were significant for all traits in both the monoculture and mixture settings. Yet, concordance for high cultivar performance in both monoculture and mixture was low. Thus, the strong underlying cultivar × mixture interaction found in this study complicates the identification of best cultivars in both settings. Yet, for each trait cultivars were identified that possessed statistically high phenotypic performance under the monoculture and mixed sward conditions. Thus, despite the substantial cultivar × environment effect, it should be possible to develop orchardgrass cultivars with improved agronomic performance under both management conditions.</p> </abstract>