Fine fescue taxa differ in their field establishment rate but it is unclear if this due to differences germination or seedling growth rate. Research at Purdue University quantified seed morphology, vigor, and vigor among 30 cultivars of fine (FF) (Festuca spp.). Strong creeping red (STCRF) rubra ssp. rubra), slender (SLCRF) (F. littoralis), Chewings commutata), hard brevipila), sheep ovina) wer...

Turfgrass stakeholder surveys have indicated fine fescue (Festuca spp.) seed will become in higher demand, but production the U.S., especially Oregon, has not increased. Northern Minnesota is conducive for cool-season turfgrass and existing infrastructure to produce seed. There an exciting opportunity northern Minnesotan farmers increase revenue by producing seed; however, fescues require a gro...

Long-term research aimed to determine whether narrow row spacing and harvest weed seed destruction, in combination with herbicide use, would be sufficient to drive a Lolium rigidum population to extinction. A trial was run from 1987 to 2013, with treatments including crop row spacings of 9, 18, 27 or 36 cm and crop residue burning or retention. Herbicides were applied to reflect regional practi...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Growth of grass species in temperate-humid regions is restricted by low temperatures. This study analyses the origin (intrinsic or size-mediated) and mechanisms (activity of individual meristems vs. number of active meristems) of differences between Bromus stamineus and Lolium perenne in the response of leaf elongation to moderately low temperatures. METHODS Field experime...

Understanding the factors that alter competitive interactions and coexistence between plants is a key issue in ecological research. A pot experiment was conducted to test the effects of root interaction and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation on the interspecies competition between Trifolium repens and Lolium perenne under different proportions of mixed sowing by the combination trea...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is one of the key forage and amenity grasses throughout the world. In the UK it accounts for 70 % of all agricultural land use with an estimated farm gate value of 6 billion pounds per annum. However, in terms of the genetic resources available, L. perenne has lagged behind other major crops in Poaceae. The aim of this project was therefor...

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is the most widely grown temperate grass species globally. Intensive plant breeding in ryegrass compared to many other crops species is a relatively recent exercise (last 100 years) and provides an interesting experimental system to trace the extent, impact and trajectory of undomesticated ecotypic variation represented in modern ryegrass cultivars. To explor...

BACKGROUND Obtaining chloroplast genome sequences is important to increase the knowledge about the fundamental biology of plastids, to understand evolutionary and ecological processes in the evolution of plants, to develop biotechnological applications (e.g. plastid engineering) and to improve the efficiency of breeding schemes. Extraction of pure chloroplast DNA is required for efficient seque...