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Ecotypic variation of water-soluble carbohydrate concentration and winter hardiness in cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.)

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Abstract

The variation of the water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentration in foliage and stubble and winter hardiness among cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) ecotypes originated from diverse countries were studied in the field in order to find a breeding material for the improvement of WSC. The total WSC concentration of foliage was found to be highest in Japanese cultivars and lowest in ecotypes from northern Europe in summer and autumn. The variation of fructan concentration in stubble among ecotypes was larger than the variation of mono and disaccharide concentrations in stubble and that of total WSC concentration in foliage in both winters over which this study was conducted. The total WSC and fructan concentrations in the stubble of ecotypes from Spain and southern Europe, derived from the Mediterranean region, were highest in summer. Ecotypes from Japan showed the highest concentration of total WSC in stubble, and were especially high in fructan concentration in autumn. Ecotypes from France, central Europe and central Asia, like Japanese cultivars, also showed a high fructan concentration. The latitude of origin was negatively correlated with WSC concentration and plant vigor in autumn. The altitude of origin was negatively correlated with plant vigor in autumn and positively correlated with fructan concentration in stubble, winter hardiness and snow endurance. Typhula snow blight resistance was related with the amount of the increase in fructan in the plants and with their growth habits in autumn. The fructan concentration of foliage and stubble in autumn was found to be closely related with winter hardiness in cocksfoot ecotypes. A breeding material which has a high WSC concentration in the foliage could not be found among the ecotypes in this study. However, some ecotypes that showed disease resistance, good winter hardiness and plant vigor would be useful as breeding materials for Hokkaido.

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Abbreviations

IDSM:

Index of damage by snow mold

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Institute of Grassland and Environment Research in the UK and the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry in Russia for supplying the seed of the ecotypes used in this study. We thank Dr M. D. Casler, USDA-ARS, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, for a critical reading of the manuscript and Dr M. Yoshida, National Agricultural Research Center for the Hokkaido Region, for technical advice on the analysis of WSC by HPLC. We thank H. Morishita for field management and Dr R. A. B. M. Golam and M. Fujimori for the analysis of WSC.

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Author notes

  1. Tomoyuki Takai

    Present address: Nagano Prefectural Livestock Experiment Station, Kataoka, Shiojiri, 399-0711, Nagano, Japan

  2. Toshihiko Yamada

    Present address: Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, Kita11-Nishi10, Kita, Sapporo, 060-0811, Hokkaido, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Agricultural Research Center for Hokkaido Region, Hitsujigaoka 1, Toyohira, Sapporo, 062-8555, Hokkaido, Japan

    Yasuharu Sanada, Tomoyuki Takai & Toshihiko Yamada

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  1. Yasuharu Sanada
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Correspondence to Yasuharu Sanada.

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Sanada, Y., Takai, T. & Yamada, T. Ecotypic variation of water-soluble carbohydrate concentration and winter hardiness in cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.). Euphytica 153, 267–280 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-006-9262-9

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