New Developments in Tall Fescues and Use Strategies

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New Developments in Tall Fescues and Use
Strategies
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Leah A. Brilman, Ph.D.Research DirectorSeed
Research of Oregon
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The Breeding Process
1. Establish a goal 2. Identify breeding
material 3. Cross selected parent plants
(clones) 4. Progeny Trials 5. Verification
Trials 6. Varietal increase
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Goals for Tall Fescues
Improved brown patch resistance Rhizomes for
recovery Improved establishment Drought
avoidance and recovery Improved root
growth Maintenance of turf density Improved
recovery Traffic tolerance and recovery Reduced
elongation and mowing Good aesthetics - Dark
color, fine textured
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Tall Fescue for Sports
Why use tall fescues for sports turf? Wear
tolerant once established Drought tolerant -
non-irrigated sites Survives low
maintenance Problems for sports turf Recovery
from wear slow Reestablishment slow Less thatch
or cushion Determining best other species for
blends Best varieties for sports may not be
available
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Identify BreedingMaterial
Existing varieties or breeding populations Surviv
ors in trials with high stress Collections Old
cemetaries, parks, sports fields Related
Species Genetic Engineering-Biotechnology
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Identify Breeding Material
Screen for disease resistance - brown
patch resistance in Missouri
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Identify Breeding Material
Survivors in trials with high stress
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Identify Breeding Material
Survivors in trials with high stress - acid
soil/drought stress in Georgia
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Cross Selected Parent Plants (Clones)
Small to medium block of plants (from 2 (common
in Europe) to over a hundred) The progeny or
offspring that are grown from the seed are
called half-sibs
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Progeny Trials (Repeated 2 to ? times)
Select superior progeny Root evaluations Spaced
plants Turf plots Evaluated usually from 2 to 4
years Evaluate progeny for production Seed
Yield, Disease resistance Repeat the cycle
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Progeny Trials
Root evaluations
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Goals for Tall Fescues
Improved brown patch resistance No complete
genetic resistance found Incidence related to
nitrogen, leaf wetness, nightime
temperatures Leaf wetness related to turf
density Many strains of brown patch - poor
correlation in resistance across sites Wider
leaves - less disease Selection - reduced
density, semi-dwarfs Genetic engineering,
Hybrids?
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Brown Patch Screening
Plant clonal nursery of tiller plants Mow,
fertilize, innoculate w/ multiple strains Select
best plants and clone into another location Best
plants crossed with each other and susceptible
plants Identify inheritance and genetics - may be
possible to find genes for resistance Can look at
other turf traits at same time
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Brown Patch Screening
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Goals for Tall Fescues
Rhizomes for recovery Primary observation on
spaced plants - not in dense sod Kentucky
bluegrasses vary in rhizome expression in dense
sod Bluegrasses develop rhizomes at 28 days Red
fescues develop rhizomes much later Tall fescues
in greenhouse have few rhizomes at 70 days,
significant at 7 months
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Goals for Tall Fescues
Rhizomes for recovery Longest rhizomes in
Mediterranean germplasm but turf quality not
high Rhizomes occur primarily in open areas Other
turf qualities must be considered - density,
diseases resistance Tall fescues need time before
wear applied Combine with transitional ryegrass,
bluegrass for sports turf
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Tall Fescue Rhizomes

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Goals for Tall Fescues
Improved establishment Faster establishment Establ
ishment under lower soil temperatures Multiple
cycles of selection Still influenced by
production dormancy Less dormancy when seed
produced in moist environment Dormancy broken by
winter storage Need germination and rapid growth
- same varieties may not be NTEP winners
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Goals for Tall Fescues
Grub Resistance Current endophytes do not have
enough alkaloids in root system to help Grub
resistance important for drought tolerance Some
endophytes increase root growth enough to
help Screen for drought resistance then insert
beneficial endophytes
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Verification Trials
1. Turf Trials NTEP - Ancillary
Trials Additional trials - unique
characteristic 2. PVP trials Establish unique
variety Morphological traits Physiological
traits Disease resistance
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How to Use the NTEPwww.ntep.org

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• www.ntep.org

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Find location and management
Closest to site Same management Similar
environment with same management Specialized
trials - traffic or sod strength Traffic trials
- need ones that emulate sport and
location Fall/spring wear, summer wear,
winter-active growth
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NTEP data
Usually on permanent turf Not at seeding rates
commonly used Management often different than
user Usually without traffic or with artificial
traffic Need traffic sooner with higher seeding
rates Color often overides other important
characters
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Genetic studies
Tall fescue is hexaploid - more difficult to
study One set of chromosomes from meadow fescue
perennial ryegrass Noble Foundation - Expressed
Sequence Tags Identify genes differentially
expressed in drought or heat stressed
plants Develop markers from these tags Apply
marker assisted selection
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Genetic Modification
Primary targets to date have been forage
targets Reduced lignin content - may improve
mowing but would not improve wear
tolerance Successful in tissue culture and
transformation Maybe useful in brown patch
resistance if correct gene could be found
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Future Work
Evaluation for traffic resistance Need traffic
with drought Continued selection of tall fescues
under drought and disease stress Identification
of other selection techniques Trials with other
species