A. Dennis Genovesi1, M.C. Engelke1, and Sabry Elias2. (1) Texas A&M University, 17360 Coit Rd., Dallas, TX 75252, (2) Oregon State University, 3291 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, OR 97331
St. Augustinegrass is a popular coarse textured turfgrass grown in the southern part of the United States with the best shade tolerance of the warm-season grasses. Its stoloniferous growth habit lends itself to vegetative propagation by turfgrass producers. Ploidy differences exist between popular cultivars where diploids such as ‘Raleigh' and ‘DelMar' have 2n=2x=18 chromosomes and polyploids such as ‘Floratam' have 2n=3x=27. Polyploids have been characterized as having genes for chinch bug resistance, but have been under utilized as a breeding resource due to sterility resulting from ploidy differences. At the meetings last year we described the use of embryo rescue as a tool that enabled the recovery of viable progeny from polyploid/diploid crosses. Sterility barriers exist which also limits the use of Pembagrass as a genetic resource in crosses with St. Augustinegrass. Certain Pembagrass genotypes have been characterized as having genes for resistance to gray leaf spot, southern chinch bug and sting nematode and may prove to be a valuable resource for St. Augustinegrass improvement. This year we report the expanded the use of embryo rescue technology to enable interspecific hybridization between St. Augustinegrass and Pembagrass.
Handout (.pdf format, 205.0 kb)
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