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Article: Divergent selection for seedling tiller number in big bluestem and switchgrass. (Forage & Grazing Lands).
- Article from:
- Crop Science
- Article date:
- July 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Crop Science Society of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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GRASS DEVELOPMENTAL morphology determines the expression of desirable traits of species utilized as forage. Most grass breeding programs are limited in their selection pressure by the limited number of plants that can be evaluated in spaced plant nurseries. Selection at the seedling level would be extremely useful if seedling traits were correlated to mature plant characteristics because more plants could be easily evaluated in the greenhouse (Hayward and Lawrence, 1970; Lawrence 1979a).
Selection at the seedling stage has been shown to be useful in improving traits including seedling vigor by selecting for high seedling weight in several legumes (Twamley, 1974; ...