REGISTRATION OF 'VAVILOV' SIBERIAN CRESTED WHEATGRASS

REGISTRATION OF 'VAVILOV' SIBERIAN CRESTED WHEATGRASS
Crop Sci. 35: 1510 (1995)

K. H. Asay, D. A. Johnson, K. B. Jensen, N. J. Chatterton, W. H. Horton, W.T. Hansen, and S. A. Young

`VAVILOV' Siberian crested wheatgrass [Agropyron fragile (Roth) Candargy] (Reg. No. CV-23, PI 583980 was developed by the USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory at Utah State University and released in cooperation with the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station and the USDA-NRCS on 1 Jul, 1994. The cultivar was named to recognize the contribution of the N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry, St. Petersburg, Russia (VIR) to the germplasm resources of the USDA-ARS range grass breeding program. This institute is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 1994.

The parental germplasm for VAVILOV was derived from accessions originally received from VIR; Stavropol Botanical Garden, Stavropol, Russia; Eskisehir Plant Breeding Station, Eskisehir, Turkey; and selections from the cultivar P-27. The CO breeding population for Vavilov consisted of 10 plants selected from a genetically broad-based population on the basis of green color retention and vegetative vigor during the late summer under extreme drought conditions on a range site in Box Elder County, Utah. This population was subjected to three-cycles of selection for vegetative vigor, response to drought, resistance to diseases and insects, seedling vigor (emergence from deep seeding), seed yield, and plant type. Open-pollinated progenies from 14 selected clonal lines in the third breeding cycle were bulked to form breeder seed.

Seedling vigor of VAVILOV, as indicated by establishment in field trials and seedling emergence from deep seedings, is comparable to the cultivar Hycrest and is consistently better than the check cultivar P-27. It has produced significantly more forage dry matter than P-27 in most evaluation trials. Limited data indicated that VAVILOV had slightly lower digestibility (IVDMD) than P-27; however, levels of Mg, Ca, and K in the forage indicated that it was less likely to cause grass tetany in grazing animals than P-27. The cultivar produced 450 kg of seed ha^-1 when grown in rows 1 m apart on a dryland site that received 350 mm of annual precipitation. Supplemental irrigation would increase seed yields about 50 percent. At 100% purity, there are approximately 330,000 seeds per kg.

VAVILOV is a tetraploid (2n=4x=28) and is fully interfertile with cultivars of Standard crested wheatgrass [Agropyron desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Schultes] as well as the cultivar Hycrest. Cytological studies show that Siberian crested wheatgrass shares the same genome 'P' with other diploid (2n=2x=14), tetraploid, and hexaploid (2n=6x=42) forms of the crested wheatgrass complex. Siberian wheatgrass is a perennial bunch grass characterized by linear, narrow, and relatively long spikes. Genetic introgression occurs between the Siberian and Standard forms in nature, and a gradation between the long-narrow spike of Siberian and the shorter and wider spike of Standard is evident in the VAVILOV breeding population.

In its native habitat, the Siberian form of crested wheatgrass is more drought-resistant than either Standard or Fairway [Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertner sensu lat] and is better adapted to sandy soils than other crested wheatgrass types. VAVILOV is recommended for semiarid range sites receiving from 200 to 450 m of precipitation annually at altitudes up to 2,100 m. Under dryland range conditions, seeding rate of 8 kg ha^-1 is recommended.

Breeder, Foundation, and Certified seed classes will be recognized. Breeder seed will be maintained by the USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory at Logan, UT. Foundation seed will be produced by the USDA-ARS at Logan and distributed to seed growers by the Utah Crop Improvement Association. Protection has been applied for under the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970 as amended in 1994. Conditions of this license specify that seed of the cultivar VAVILOV can be marketed only as a class of certified seed. For information regarding supplies of foundation seed, contact: Stanford Young; Utah Crop Improvement Association; Plants, Soils, and Biometeorology Department; Utah State University; Logan, UT 84322-4820.

References

K. H. Asay, D. A. Johnson, K. B. Jensen, N. J. Chatterton, W. T. Hansen, and W. H. Horton, USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-6300; and S. A. Young, Plants, Soils, and Biometerorology Department, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322-4820.