Breeding Herbage Species for Northern Areas

Abstract

Within the Nordgrass project twenty trials of smooth meadow grass have been established at various experimental sites in northern Scandinavia and Iceland. Results from twelve of these are presented here. There were fourteen varieties included in the trials which were generally harvested for three years. The main objective of the trials was to study the effects of the test environment upon the performance of the varieties and to identify stable, high yielding varieties. With respect to yield, there were significant interactions between varieties and locations, and varieties, locations and years. Linear regression on site means identified fairly stable, high yielding varieties, even though a significant amount of the variation attributable to genotype-environment interactions remained unaccounted for. Seasonal growth patterns were influenced by heading date; those varieties that headed early showed very little regrowth. The cover of the experimental plots by the sown varieties was highly dependent on test location but it was not possible to attribute this to different responses of the varieties to establishment, resistance to fungal attack or ice encasement.