New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts
Temperate native Australian grass improvement by selection
G. M. LODGE
NSW Agriculture
Tamworth Centre for Crop Improvement
RMB 944
Tamworth, NSW 2340, Australia
Abstract This review examines the history of native grass
domestication in Australia, the features of the major genera being studied,
selection procedures and criteria used, and the current status of native grass
improvement programmes. Although domestication of native Australian grasses has
been proposed since the early 1920s, it is only in recent times that selection
programmes have led to the registration of six cultivars within the genera
Danthonia and Microlaena under Plant Breeders Rights legislation.
Advanced selections have also been made in Themeda, Astrebla,
Bothriochloa, and additional genotypes of Microlaena; a further
18 native grass species are being evaluated in different improvement
programmes. All of these grasses have been selected for agricultural, land
reclamation, revegetation, amenity, or turfgrass applications. Many of the
selection programmes also involve associated research into aspects such as
establishment, management, and herbicide sensitivity. Both commercialisation
and large-scale seed production of native grasses are in their initial phases
and their success will determine the availability of seed in marketable
quantities at competitive prices.
Keywords native Australian grasses; species selection;
improvement; domestication
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 1996, Vol. 39: 487-497
0028-8233/96/3904-0487 $2.50/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
1996
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