UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE

WASHINGTON D.C. 20250

AND

UTAH AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY

LOGAN, UTAH 84322-4810

AND

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

WASHINGTON D.C. 20240

AND

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

WASHINGTON D.C. 20013

NOTICE OF RELEASE OF TOE JAM CREEK BOTTLEBRUSH SQUIRRELTAIL

SELECTED GERMPLASM

Toe Jam Creek Germplasm of bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides [Raf.] Swezey ssp. californicus) is proposed for release. This selected class (natural track) of pre-cultivar germplasm is eligible for seed certification under guidelines developed by the Association of Seed Certifying Agencies (2001). Participating in the release are the USDA-ARS, the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service and the USDI-Bureau of Land Management. This alternative release procedure is being utilized because existing commercial sources of bottlebrush squirreltail are inadequate, propagation material of specific ecotypes is needed for ecosystem restoration, potential for immediate use is high, and commercial potential beyond specific restoration and reclamation objectives is probably limited (Young, 1995). The great degree of genetic variation within and between E. elymoides subspecies for ecophysiological traits (Jones et al., 2003) is probably related to the self-pollinating nature of this grass (Jensen et al., 1990).

Toe Jam Creek (PI 531604) keys to Sitanion hystrix (Nutt.) J.G. Smith var. californicus (= E. elymoides ssp. californicus), one of three bottlebrush squirreltail taxa in Wilson’s (1963) treatment, while the Sand Hollow germplasm (Jones et al., 1998) keys to Sitanion jubatum J.G. Smith (= Elymus multisetus [J.G. Smith] M.E. Jones), i.e., big squirreltail (Barkworth et al., 1983; Barkworth, 1997). Recent molecular AFLP data have verified that big squirreltail and bottlebrush squirreltail are indeed distinct species (Larson et al., in prep.), though var. californicus was not included in that study.

Toe Jam Creek was collected in northwestern Elko County, NV about 13 km west of Tuscarora by J. Garrison (USDA-SCS [NRCS]). D.R. Dewey listed it in his collection as D-2986. No intentional selection has been performed on this accession. The site is classified by USDA-NRCS (Anonymous, 1981) as Major Land Resource Area D25 (Owyhee High Plateau). Elevation at the site is 1829 m. Average annual precipitation at Tuscarora is 312 mm. Elevation is 1829 m. Toe Jam Creek’s intended area of use is the northern Great Basin and the lower Snake River Plain.

Removal of the awn without seed damage has been difficult in Sand Hollow big squirreltail germplasm. Mass of the proximal centimeter of the awn for Toe Jam Creek was 0.266 mg at Evans Farm in 2001, 34% lower than Sand Hollow. Awn mass of Toe Jam Creek was not significantly different from Fish Creek germplasm at North Park Farm in 2001. Toe Jam Creek has been compared with 26 other E. elymoides and E. multisetus accessions from California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado in greenhouse and field trials, none of which keyed to E. elymoides ssp. californicus (Jones et al., 2003). Heading date of Toe Jam Creek was similar to the average of 17 E. elymoides ssp. elymoides accessions, but Toe Jam Creek had greater individual seed mass than any of these accessions. G-2 seed harvested from this field trial was used to establish a seed increase at Evans Farm in the spring of 2000, from which G-3 seed was harvested beginning in 2001. Seed of the G-3 generation will be maintained by the USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory, Logan, UT and will be made available to growers by the Utah Crop Improvement Association. Seed through the G-6 generation will be eligible for certification.

Seed of Fish Creek germplasm will be donated to the National Plant Germplasm System. Small quantities of seed can be obtained for research purposes by contacting David Stout, Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164‑6402. Appropriate recognition should be made if this material contributes to the development of a new breeding line or cultivar.

T.A. Jones, D.C. Nielson, S.R. Larson, D.A. Johnson, T.A. Monaco, S.L. Caicco, D.G. Ogle, S.A. Young, and J.R. Carlson.

REFERENCES

Anonymous. 1981. Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States. USDA-SCS Agric. Handb. 296. U.S. Gov. Print. Office, Washington, DC.

Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies. 2001. Genetic and crop standards of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies. p. 1-12 to 1-14, 2-69 to 2-72. AOSCA, Boise, ID.

Barkworth, M.E. 1997. Taxonomic and nomenclatural comments on the Triticeae in North America. Phytologia 83:302-311.

Barkworth, M.E., D.R. Dewey, and R.J Atkins. 1983. New intergeneric concepts in the Triticeae of the Intermountain Region: Key and comments. Great Basin Natur. 43:561-572.

Jensen, K.B., Y.F. Zhang, and D.R. Dewey. 1990. Mode of pollination of perennial species of the Triticeae in relation to genomically defined genera. Can. J. Plant Sci. 70:215-225.

Jones, T.A., D.C. Nielson, J.T. Arredondo, and M.G. Redinbaugh. 2003. Characterization of diversity among three squirreltail taxa. J. Range Manage. (accepted)

Jones, T.A., D.C. Nielson, D.G. Ogle, D.A. Johnson, and S.A. Young. 1998. Registration of Sand Hollow squirreltail germplasm. Crop Sci. 38:286.

Larson, S.R., T.A. Jones, K.B. Jensen, and C.L. McCracken. Patterns of amplified fragment length polymorphism in Elymus section Sitanion reflect provenance, morphological variation, and phylogeny. (to be submitted to Can. J. Bot.)

Wilson, F.D. 1963. Revision of Sitanion (Triticeae, Gramineae). Brittonia 15:303-323.

Young, S.A. 1995. Verification of germplasm origin and genetic status by seed certification agencies. p. 293-295. In B.A. Roundy et al. (compilers) Proc. Wildland shrub and arid land restoration symposium. Intermountain Res. Stn. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-315. USDA-Forest Service, Ogden, UT.

T.A. Jones, D.C. Nielson, S.R. Larson, D.A. Johnson, and T.A. Monaco, USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT 84322-6300; S.L. Caicco, USDI-BLM, WO‑230,1620 L St., room 204, Washington, DC 20036; D.G. Ogle, USDA-NRCS, 9173 West Barnes Dr., Suite C, Boise, ID 83709; S.A. Young, Utah Crop Improvement Association, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT 84322-4820, and J.R. Carlson, USDA-NRCS, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building A, Fort Collins, CO 80526-1891.

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