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Growth under cold conditions in a wide perennial ryegrass panel is under tight physiological control
Förster, Lena Grant, Jim Michel, Thibauld Ng, Carl Barth, Susanne
Förster, Lena
Grant, Jim
Michel, Thibauld
Ng, Carl
Barth, Susanne
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2018-07-17
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Förster L, Grant J, Michel T, Ng C, Barth S. 2018. Growth under cold conditions in a wide perennial ryegrass panel is under tight physiological control. PeerJ 6:e5520 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5520
Abstract
Background. Perennial ryegrass is a cool-season grass species from the family Poaceae
and is widely cultivated in temperate regions because it exhibits rapid growth and
establishment, and possesses high forage quality. The extension of the growing season
in Ireland in spring and autumn is a breeding target to make farming more profitable
since a grass-fed diet based on grazing is the cheapest way of nutrition for ruminants.
Methods. Fifty-seven perennial ryegrass accessions were screened for their ability to
grow under typical Irish spring conditions as taken from long term temperature records
in controlled climate chambers. They were grown in low temperature (8 ◦C/2 ◦C
day/night) and control conditions (15 ◦C/8 ◦C day/night) in three consecutive
independent experiments. Fresh weight, height, chlorophyll content and electrolyte
leakage were measured, and these parameters were used to rank plant performance
under low temperature growth conditions.
Results. The results showed that height, yield and electrolyte leakage are excellent
measures for the impact of cold stress tolerance. Little variation in growth was
seen under cold stress, but a wide variety of responses were observed under control
conditions.
Discussion. Our results suggest that cold stress is under tight physiological control.
Interestingly, the various genotypes responded differentially to more amenable control
conditions, indicating that a quick response to more amenable growth conditions is a
better target for breeding programmes.