Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass
A variety of Kentucky Bluegrass having a high level of resistane to leaf spot and melting out disease; a medium to high level of resistance to several rust diseases and dollar spot; a dark green color throughout the growing season; a good level of drought tolerance; high quality dense persistent turf formation under a wide variety of environmental conditions; and a medium level of seed yielding capacity.
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Poa pratensis that has been designated Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass.
2. Description of Related Art
Kentucky bluegrasses have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 3,156, issued May 9, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 3,186, issued May 23, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 4,336, issued Nov. 28, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 6,280, issued Sep. 6, 1988; U.S. Pat. Nos. P.P. 6,538 and 6,538, issued on Jan. 17, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 6,585, issued Feb. 7, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 7,831, issued Mar. 17, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 8,490, issued Dec. 7, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 9,036, issued Jan. 3, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 9,209, issued Jul. 18, 1995; and pending U.S. Plant patent applications Ser. No. 08/453,864, filed May 30, 1995, and Ser. No. 08/532,995, filed Sep. 22, 1995.
SUMMARY OF THE VARIETYBa 77-279 plant material originated by crossing Ba73-709, an unreleased Kentucky bluegrass plant maintained in the O. M. Scott plant nursery, as the seed parent with a Merion Kentucky bluegrass plant as the pollen parent. As a result of this breeding, a distinct variety was produced and asexually propagated by rhizomes, tillers and disseminules.
Seed of Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass was produced first at Marysville, Ohio and later at Gervais, Oreg. This seed was used to plant turf performance evaluation trials and later seed production fields. Asexual production of Ba 77-279 by propagules (tillers and rhizomes) and by disseminules (modified caryopses produced by apomixis) has consistently produced progeny plants indistinguishable from the mother plant. The apomixis level of Ba 77-279 is approximately 89% based upon examining seedling characeristics of approximately 100 to 150 seedlings from different crop years in a growth chamber.
Ba 77-279 has a number of highly desirable characteristics including a high level of resistance to Drechslera spp. that causes leaf spot, melting out and crown rot; a medium to high level of resistance to Puccinia spp. that causes several types of rust infections and Schlerotinia homoeocarpa that causes dollar spot. Ba 77-279 has an attractive leafy turf growth habit; moderately wide leaf blades and an attractive dark green color which can be maintained throughout the entire growing season. Ba 77-279 demonstrates good drought tolerance and excellent turf performance as evidenced by consistently high scores for quality, color and density. Ba 77-279 has a medium seed yield potential in the bluegrass seed production region of the northwestern U.S.
In comparison with a number of other bluegrass varieties, Ba 77-279 is average for seed size, number of whorls per panicle, vegetative leaf width, and ligule length. Ba 77-279 is below average in panicle length and width, number of florets per spikelet, flag leaf and vegetative leaf length and width, peduncle length and width, culm length and lemma hair content. Ba 77-279 is above average in spikelet width.
In comparison to many other varieties, Ba 77-279 is significantly greater in rachella length, spikelet length, flag leaf ligule length and internode length. Ba 77-279 has significantly less number of branches per whorl in the panicle, number of nodes in the culm and vegetative leaf ligule hair content as compared with other Bluegrass varieties. In comparison to most varieties, Ba 77-279 is significantly greater in outer and inner glume length and flag leaf thickness. Ba 77-279 is much darker green than either of its parents (Ba73-709 and Merion).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is a Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass panicle;
FIG. 2 is a Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass seed; and
FIG. 3 is a Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass plant shortly after completing anthesis.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETYBa 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is perennial with creeping rhizomes forming a dense turf. When plants overwinter in the field under freezing temperatures and are then brought into the greenhouse during late winter to continue growth undisturbed by clipping under moderate temperatures (60.degree.-80.degree. F.), culms are erect averaging 36.3 cm in length and 3.0 nodes per culm and the uppermost internode averages 12.7 cm in length. The peduncle averages 20.0 cm in length and 0.64 mm in width. The flag leaf averages 4.7 cm in length, 3.5 mm in width and 0.29 mm in thickness and the ligule 1.5 mm in length. The vegetative leaf averages 17.4 cm in length, 3.4 mm in width, 0.345 mm in thickness and a ligule length of 0.22 mm.
The panicle averages 77.1 mm in length, 66.0 mm in width, and 9.2 whorls. The lowest whorl averages 2.3 branches and the third whorl from the button of the panicle average 2.1 branches. A spikelet in the lowest whorl averages 5.4 mm in length, 2.6 mm in width, 3.1 florets and the outer glume and inner glume average 3.7 and 4.1 mm in length, respectively. A spikelet from the third whorl from the bottom of the panicle is 5.3 mm in length, 2.9 mm in width, 3.1 florets, and the outer glume and inner glume averages 3.7 and 4.0 mm in length, respectively.
The conditioned seed of Ba 77-279 averages 2.99 mm in length, 0.85 mm in width, and a rachilla length of 0.82 mm. The seed count for Ba 77-279 averages approximately 1,039,000 seeds per pound.
Comparisions of Ba 77-279 with other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties in terms of seed dimension and seed numbers per pound are shown in Tables 1 and 2 as follows:
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Morphological Comparison of Seed and Rachilla Measurements and Lemma Hair of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Marysville, OH After Conditioning Seed Variety Length mm Width mm Rachilla mm Lemma* Hair ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 2.99 .85 .82 3.4 Ba 74-114 3.23 0.89 0.88 4.2 Ba 73-366 3.04 0.91 0.80 4.4 Ba 73-381 3.00 0.94 0.86 4.9 Abbey 2.97 0.89 0.80 3.8 Adelphi 2.70 0.84 0.65 4.4 America 2.40 0.68 0.68 2.8 Baron 3.08 0.81 0.71 5.0 Bristol 2.94 0.88 0.73 4.3 Chateau 2.81 0.86 0.71 4.5 Coventry 2.71 0.81 0.70 4.0 Eclipse 2.77 0.83 0.68 3.5 Georgetown 2.94 0.82 0.74 4.9 Gnome 2.78 0.83 0.75 4.1 Kelly 3.07 0.89 0.75 4.2 Marquis 2.97 0.87 0.83 4.7 Midnight 2.94 0.76 0.78 5.7 Nassau 3.07 0.86 0.68 3.4 Ram I 3.23 0.89 0.80 6.0 Touchdown 2.93 0.88 0.71 4.6 Victa 3.00 0.80 0.82 3.5 LSD (.05) 0.16 0.05 0.13 0.86 ______________________________________ *Rating Scale: 0-9; 9 = abundant row of hairs
TABLE 2 ______________________________________ Comparison of Seed Numbers Per Pound of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Marysville, OH After Conditioning Variety Seeds Per Pound ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 1,039,000 Ba 74-114 978,000 Ba 73-366 1,025,586 Ba 73-381 1,171,000 Abbey 1,003,037 Adelphi 1,383,976 America 1,659,824 Baron 1,051,693 Bristol 1,270,821 Chateau 1,300,105 Coventry 1,246,200 Eclipse 1,335,668 Georgetown 1,431,000 Gnome 1,017,641 Kelly 921,166 Marquis 1,054,642 Midnight 1,227,000 Nassau 1,127,130 Ram I 1,214,000 Touchdown 1,211,000 Victa 1,038,298 ______________________________________
Ba 77-279 differs significantly morphologically from many other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties in regard to the following characteristics: (1) seed length; (2) rachilla length; (3) panicle length; (4) number of branches in the whorl; (5) spikelet length and width; (6) glume length and width; (7) culm length and internode length; (8) flag leaf thickness; and (9) vegetative leaf with and sheath color.
Since environmental conditions such as soil and climate may influence morphological characteristics to some extent, comparisions of morphological characteristics of Ba 77-279 were made with other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties and the comparisons are set forth in the following Tables 3-8:
TABLE 3 ______________________________________ Morphological Comparison of Panicles, Whorl Number and Whorl Branches of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Number of Panicles Branches Length Width Whorl Lowest Third Variety Nodding* mm mm Number Whorl Whorl ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 2.4 77.1 66.0 9.2 2.3 2.1 Ba 74-114 2.0 88.8 62.0 9.3 2.1 2.1 Ba 73-366 1.6 88.8 68.4 8.8 4.3 3.7 Ba 73-381 1.1 80.2 55.3 9.8 4.1 3.9 Abbey 1.6 80.4 59.3 9.3 3.8 3.3 Adelphi 1.8 106.8 76.4 10.0 3.6 3.0 America 2.3 67.7 51.1 8.8 3.3 3.5 Baron 2.2 92.6 71.0 10.0 3.4 2.8 Bristol 2.0 85.5 61.5 8.4 2.8 2.7 Chateau 2.9 65.2 57.3 8.5 3.3 2.8 Coventry 2.5 64.0 54.2 8.4 3.3 2.5 Eclipse 1.3 89.2 74.0 10.7 3.3 2.1 Georgetown 1.0 80.0 57.0 7.4 2.1 2.6 Gnome 1.1 80.6 56.0 10.6 4.6 3.9 Kelly 2.0 88.0 70.2 9.8 4.6 3.7 Marquis 1.1 82.0 63.0 10.3 3.9 3.6 Midnight 2.0 75.8 48.4 7.1 2.9 3.0 Nassau 2.2 91.2 68.6 10.0 2.5 2.1 Ram I 1.3 67.7 47.0 7.3 3.0 3.2 Touchdown 1.1 73.1 75.0 7.6 2.1 2.3 Victa 1.7 74.9 58.3 10.0 4.7 3.5 LSD (.05) 0.68 7.35 8.62 0.66 0.72 0.50 ______________________________________ *Rate Scale: 1-9; 9 = most nodding
TABLE 4 ______________________________________ Morphological Comparison of Spikelets and Florets of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Number Spikelet* of Florets Lowest Whorl Third Whorl Per Spikelet Length Width Length Width Lowest Third Variety mm mm mm mm Whorl Whorl ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 5.4 2.6 5.3 2.9 3.1 3.1 Ba 74-114 5.6 3.2 5.6 3.3 4.1 4.1 Ba 73-366 4.6 2.5 4.7 2.6 2.6 2.8 Ba 73-381 4.7 2.4 4.6 2.6 2.7 2.7 Abbey 4.4 2.2 4.5 2.2 3.0 3.0 Adelphi 4.6 2.2 4.8 2.2 4.4 4.4 America 4.6 2.2 4.4 2.3 4.5 4.3 Baron 5.4 2.8 5.4 3.1 4.0 4.2 Bristol 4.9 2.4 5.0 2.5 4.2 4.5 Chateau 4.4 2.4 4.4 2.4 3.4 3.5 Coventry 4.4 2.2 4.5 2.4 3.2 3.5 Eclipse 4.6 2.4 4.6 2.4 3.6 3.6 Georgetown 5.0 2.3 5.0 2.6 4.8 4.9 Gnome 4.6 2.5 4.6 2.9 3.2 3.2 Kelly 5.1 2.5 5.2 2.8 3.7 3.8 Marquis 4.3 2.2 4.4 2.3 3.1 2.9 Midnight 5.3 2.5 5.5 2.4 4.4 4.7 Nassau 4.7 2.6 4.8 3.0 4.2 4.3 Ram I 5.4 2.6 5.3 2.8 3.6 3.4 Touchdown 5.1 2.9 4.8 2.8 4.1 4.0 Victa 4.5 2.5 4.5 2.4 3.3 3.2 LSD (.05) 0.41 0.35 0.38 0.35 0.58 0.53 ______________________________________ *Microscope measurements
TABLE 5 ______________________________________ Morphological Comparison of Glumes of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Glume Hairs* Glume Length (mm) Lowest Third Outer Inner Whorl Whorl Lowest Third Lowest Third In- In- Variety Whorl Whorl Whorl Whorl Outer ner Outer ner ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 3.7 3.7 4.1 4.0 2.1 3.0 2.0 2.3 Ba 74-114 3.5 3.3 3.9 3.8 2.6 3.2 2.2 2.8 Ba 73-366 2.8 2.8 3.2 3.1 1.7 1.3 1.3 2.0 Ba 73-381 2.8 2.9 3.2 3.1 1.7 2.3 2.1 2.3 Abbey 2.7 2.7 3.1 3.1 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.0 Adelphi 2.7 2.6 3.0 3.1 0.6 2.7 1.1 1.9 America 2.1 2.1 2.5 2.5 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.3 Baron 3.1 3.2 3.6 3.7 4.8 4.4 4.2 4.6 Bristol 2.8 3.0 3.3 3.4 1.0 2.2 0.8 2.2 Chateau 2.8 2.9 3.1 3.2 1.5 2.6 2.0 1.8 Coventry 2.7 2.8 3.1 3.1 1.5 2.7 1.6 2.4 Eclipse 3.0 3.0 3.4 3.4 1.5 1.9 1.8 1.9 George- 2.8 2.8 3.1 3.1 1.7 2.7 1.2 2.4 town Gnome 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.3 1.0 1.9 1.2 1.6 Kelly 3.0 3.1 3.4 3.5 1.3 1.5 1.1 0.8 Marquis 2.8 2.7 3.1 3.1 0.9 1.1 1.7 1.8 Midnight 2.6 2.6 3.0 3.1 1.8 2.8 1.0 2.4 Nassau 2.6 2.7 2.9 3.0 2.1 2.6 4.2 4.4 Ram I 2.9 3.0 3.6 3.5 1.1 2.3 0.7 1.2 Touch- 3.3 3.3 3.8 3.8 0.7 2.1 1.1 1.4 down Victa 2.8 2.7 3.1 3.1 0.8 1.1 1.1 1.3 LSD (.05) 0.23 0.22 0.22 0.23 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 ______________________________________ *Rating Scale: 0-9; 9 = many hairs
TABLE 6 ______________________________________ Morphological Comparison of Flag Leaves of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Length Width Thickness Leaf Leaf Ligule Variety cm mm mm Angle.sup.1/ Curve.sup.2/ mm ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 4.7 3.5 0.29 2.1 4.5 1.5 Ba 74-114 5.3 3.4 0.23 1.4 5.0 1.2 Ba 73-366 4.5 3.6 0.18 5.1 4.4 1.5 Ba 73-381 4.3 3.5 0.22 1.9 5.0 1.3 Abbey 3.8 3.4 0.14 2.7 4.1 1.3 Adelphi 5.7 3.4 0.18 5.2 5.0 1.1 America 4.3 2.6 0.21 4.6 5.0 0.6 Baron 7.0 4.2 0.15 9.2 4.4 1.2 Bristol 4.3 3.2 0.21 2.3 5.0 0.6 Chateau 4.0 2.7 0.19 3.4 2.0 0.9 Coventry 3.7 3.0 0.14 0.7 4.3 0.9 Eclipse 3.9 3.2 0.19 8.7 5.0 1.1 Georgetown 5.7 2.8 0.22 1.9 5.0 0.6 Gnome 4.5 3.5 0.18 4.3 5.0 0.8 Kelly 4.8 4.1 0.18 3.1 4.4 1.5 Marquis 5.5 3.6 0.24 2.7 4.6 0.8 Midnight 3.8 2.6 0.19 1.1 5.0 0.4 Nassau 6.0 3.7 0.19 5.9 4.7 1.1 Ram I 3.4 3.1 0.19 1.0 4.8 0.7 Touchdown 4.1 2.7 0.16 3.4 4.1 1.1 Victa 3.9 3.7 0.27 2.1 4.6 1.3 LSD (.05) 1.0 0.42 0.025 2.50 0.40 0.17 ______________________________________ Hairs.sup.3/ Leaf Sheath Variety Margin Ligule Color.sup.4/ ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 0.6 0.7 0.9 Ba 74-114 0.5 2.1 1.8 Ba 73-366 0.4 2.2 0.5 Ba 73-381 0.4 3.6 1.5 Abbey 0.8 1.6 0.2 Adelphi 1.8 1.6 0.4 America 0.4 0.7 1.9 Baron 1.0 3.8 2.6 Bristol 0.4 1.9 2.0 Chateau 1.1 3.1 0.3 Coventry 0.8 1.7 2.0 Eclipse 1.0 1.0 0.2 Georgetown 0.6 2.0 2.0 Gnome 0.9 3.2 1.5 Kelly 1.1 2.5 2.2 Marquis 0.5 3.8 1.5 Midnight 0.4 0.3 2.0 Nassau 2.6 2.4 0.8 Ram I 0.5 1.3 2.0 Touchdown 1.0 1.0 7.7 Victa 1.0 0.8 0.5 LSD (.05) 0.47 0.70 0.76 ______________________________________ .sup.1/ Degrees from the stem .sup.2/ Rating Scale: 1-9; 1 = curves up; 5 = no curve; 9 = curves down .sup.3/ Rating Scale: 0-9; 0 = none; 9 = many .sup.4/ Rating Scale: 0-9; 0 = no color; 9 = dark purple
TABLE 7 ______________________________________ Morphological Comparison of Peduncles, Culms, Node Numbers Per Culm and Internode Length of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Culm Top Peduncle Peduncle Length Nodes Internode Variety Length cm Width mm cm Per Culm Length cm ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 20.0 0.64 36.3 3.0 12.7 Ba 74-114 24.7 0.71 44.9 3.7 13.4 Ba 73-366 26.4 0.70 42.7 4.1 9.2 Ba 73-381 24.3 0.81 39.5 3.1 10.8 Abbey 23.2 0.65 41.3 4.1 11.0 Adelphi 24.5 0.66 40.0 4.0 10.4 America 16.2 0.62 31.8 3.1 11.0 Baron 34.0 0.70 52.8 4.2 12.8 Bristol 22.9 0.73 43.5 4.0 12.6 Chateau 20.7 0.61 38.9 4.4 9.9 Coventry 19.6 0.49 34.7 4.5 7.9 Eclipse 23.7 0.66 39.2 4.9 9.9 Georgetown 21.7 0.68 37.5 3.2 11.1 Gnome 19.4 0.84 35.3 3.1 9.2 Kelly 29.4 0.75 46.6 3.6 11.8 Marquis 27.1 0.83 34.1 3.4 7.8 Midnight 20.5 0.72 29.5 2.8 7.6 Nassau 25.0 0.66 36.0 3.9 7.4 Ram I 22.2 0.69 30.5 2.5 6.6 Touchdown 23.6 0.52 38.0 4.0 8.4 Victa 21.2 0.81 37.9 3.7 10.3 LSD (.05) 3.17 0.077 3.32 0.44 1.94 ______________________________________
TABLE 8 ______________________________________ Morphological Comparison of Vegetative Leaves of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Thickness Leaf Variety Length cm Width mm mm Angle.sup.1/ Curve.sup.2/ ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 17.4 3.4 0.34 67.9 5.5 Ba 74-114 18.9 4.5 0.36 50.9 5.0 Ba 73-366 22.9 3.8 0.40 53.0 7.1 Ba 73-381 22.1 3.3 0.30 62.5 8.2 Abbey 20.7 3.6 0.28 51.3 7.4 Adelphi 19.4 3.7 0.28 67.0 4.6 America 21.4 3.1 0.32 66.0 6.4 Baron 18.2 4.3 0.29 35.0 4.4 Bristol 18.2 3.7 0.32 65.5 6.9 Chateau 23.1 3.3 0.33 39.7 5.4 Coventry 23.4 3.6 0.25 63.0 7.3 Eclipse 20.3 4.4 0.30 65.5 5.4 Georgetown 19.5 3.6 0.29 56.7 5.8 Gnome 18.2 2.9 0.29 43.2 6.6 Kelly 22.8 3.9 0.30 55.5 7.0 Marquis 19.7 3.7 0.38 46.4 7.8 Midnight 19.5 3.5 0.31 63.3 5.0 Nassau 16.3 3.7 0.29 63.2 4.9 Ram I 19.1 3.6 0.27 70.8 6.5 Touchdown 16.7 3.7 0.24 51.3 4.0 Victa 21.5 3.6 0.36 56.3 6.7 LSD (.05) 3.50 0.43 0.044 15.90 1.54 ______________________________________ Hairs.sup.3/ Ligule Leaf Leaf Sheath Sheath Variety Length mm Ligule Margin Roughness.sup.4/ Color.sup.5/ ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 0.22 1.5 2.0 8.8 0.2 Ba 74-114 0.14 3.3 2.6 8.7 2.0 Ba 73-366 0.23 5.2 4.2 8.5 0.0 Ba 73-381 0.16 3.2 0.7 8.2 2.0 Abbey 0.32 4.4 2.8 7.7 0.0 Adelphi 0.34 2.6 3.4 8.8 0.0 America 0.12 1.7 2.1 8.4 2.0 Baron 0.33 4.6 3.6 7.4 0.4 Bristol 0.12 2.6 3.0 8.9 2.0 Chateau 0.22 3.3 3.1 7.8 0.5 Coventry 0.32 3.1 2.4 8.1 0.3 Eclipse 0.38 2.8 2.6 9.0 0.2 Georgetown 0.14 2.5 2.4 8.5 2.0 Gnome 0.23 1.6 0.8 7.5 1.4 Kelly 0.34 4.6 2.4 8.8 0.0 Marquis 0.21 3.6 1.1 6.8 1.1 Midnight 0.10 1.3 1.6 7.7 2.0 Nassau 0.34 2.5 3.3 8.5 1.4 Ram I 0.09 1.8 2.0 7.7 2.0 Touchdown 0.29 1.4 1.3 7.9 8.0 Victa 0.26 2.3 1.7 7.9 0.1 LSD (.05) 0.045 0.79 0.70 0.89 0.57 ______________________________________ .sup.1/ Degrees from the stem .sup.2/ Rating Scale: 1-9; 1 = curves up; 5 = no curve; 9 = curves down .sup.3/ Rating Scale: 0-9; 0 = none; 9 = many .sup.4/ Rating Scale: 1-9; 1 = rough; 9 = smooth .sup.5/ Rating Scale: 0-9; 0 = no color; 9 = dark purple color
Ba 77-279 has been an outstanding performer as exhibited by high turf quality ratings and dark green color at a number of locations across the U.S. in comparison to other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties. With regard to a comparataive analysis conducted for purposes of determining color of Ba 77-279 plants relative to other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties, readings were taken of the vegetative color of Ba 77-279 during mid-May while the turf was actively growing with adequate nutrient and water availability. The readings were taken in full sun with several actively growing leaves being compared, one at a time, utilizing color chips from the Munsell Book of Color as a reference. On this basis, the color of Ba 77-279 was determined to be 7.5 GY 4/4. During the same time period, the color of similar leaves of other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties were determined by the same procedure to be as follows: Ba 74-114 -- 7.5 GY 4/4; Ba 73-381 -- 5 GY 4/4; Ba 73-366 -- 5 GY 4/4; Ba 73-540 -- 5 GY 4/4; Abbey -- 5 GY 3/4; and Coventry -- 5 GY 4/4. However, it should be noted that the general apparent color of turf does not always correlate directly with the color of the individual actively growing leaves within the turf and that turf color varies with nutrient level and time of year with some varieties being darker or lighter green depending on such factors.
Ba 77-279 demonstrates a dark green color which can be maintained throughout the growing season. It also has a medium wide leaf, good density and seedling vigor. Comparisons of Ba 77-279 with other Kentucky bluegrass varieties for quality, color, density and seedling vigor are set forth hereinafter in Tables
TABLE 9 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Quality of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties In Three Tests Conducted at Nineteen (19) Locations in the U.S. in Three Tests Conducted. Test (Annual Means) Variety A B C ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 6.1 6.4 5.9 Ba 73-366 5.5 5.5 5.3 Ba 73-381 5.4 5.6 5.3 Ba 74-114 5.3 5.6 5.1 Abbey 5.5 5.5 5.3 Able I 5.8 6.1 5.9 A-34 5.6 5.7 5.5 Banff 6.0 5.9 5.4 Baron 5.8 5.7 5.3 Classic 5.8 5.9 5.4 Coventry 5.9 6.0 5.7 Eclipse 5.9 6.2 6.0 Estate 5.9 5.9 5.6 Georgetown 5.9 5.9 5.4 Glade 6.2 6.0 5.6 Gnome 5.5 5.5 5.3 Haga 5.9 5.8 5.5 Kelly 5.5 5.4 5.2 Kenblue 4.6 4.5 4.3 Marquis 5.4 5.5 5.4 Merion 4.2 4.8 4.9 Merit 5.4 5.5 5.3 Midnight 6.2 6.4 6.3 Monopoly 5.3 5.5 5.3 Nassau 5.6 5.8 5.2 Ram I 6.1 5.9 5.4 South Dakota 4.1 4.2 4.2 Touchdown 5.5 5.9 5.5 LSD (.05) 0.3 0.2 0.2 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = ideal turf
TABLE 10 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Genetic Color of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in Three Tests (A-C) Conducted at Ten (10) Locations in the US TESTS (Annual Means) Variety A B C ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 6.9 6.8 7.2 Ba 74-114 7.0 7.2 7.2 Ba 73-366 5.5 5.5 5.9 Ba 73-381 6.0 5.7 6.4 Abbey 5.6 5.9 5.8 Able I 6.6 6.8 6.8 A-34 5.0 5.4 4.6 Banff 5.1 6.0 5.5 Baron 6.0 6.0 5.9 Classic 5.2 5.9 5.2 Coventry 5.9 5.6 5.8 Eclipse 6.3 6.6 6.4 Estate 5.8 5.3 5.3 Georgetown 5.2 6.1 5.3 Glade 6.7 6.3 6.7 Gnome 6.0 6.1 5.8 Haga 5.1 5.8 5.3 Kelly 5.6 5.7 6.1 Kenblue 4.6 5.0 5.3 Marquis 6.1 6.1 6.4 Merion 5.7 5.8 5.4 Merit 5.7 5.7 6.2 Midnight 7.1 7.3 7.7 Monopoly 4.8 4.9 4.8 Nassau 6.0 6.6 6.5 Ram I 6.7 5.9 6.6 South Dakota 4.5 4.8 4.7 Touchdown 5.5 5.5 5.3 LSD (.05) 0.5 0.4 0.7 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = dark green.
TABLE 11 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Fall Density of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Martinsville, New Jersey Variety Fall Density ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 7.0 Ba 73-366 5.3 Ba 73-381 5.3 Ba 74-114 5.7 Abbey 4.7 Able I 4.7 A-34 5.7 Banff 6.3 Baron 5.7 Classic 6.3 Coventry 6.0 Eclipse 5.3 Estate 5.0 Georgetown 6.7 Glade 5.7 Gnome 6.0 Haga 6.7 Kelly 5.0 Kenblue 5.0 Marquis 5.7 Merion 3.7 Merit 5.3 Midnight 7.3 Monopoly 5.0 Nassau 5.3 Ram I 6.7 South Dakota 3.0 Touchdown 5.7 LSD (.05) 1.4 ______________________________________ Ratings Scale: 1-9; 9 = maximum density
TABLE 12 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Leaf Texture of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Martinsville, NJ. Variety Leaf Texture ______________________________________ BA 77-279 5.3 Ba 74-114 4.0 Ba 73-366 4.3 Ba 73-381 4.0 Abbey 5.0 Able I 5.7 A-34 4.3 Banff 5.3 Baron 5.0 Classic 5.3 Coventry 5.0 Eclipse 5.7 Estate 4.3 Georgetown 6.0 Glade 5.0 Gnome 5.3 Haga 5.7 Kelly 4.3 Kenblue 6.0 Marquis 4.3 Merion 4.0 Merit 4.7 Midnight 6.7 Monopoly 5.0 Nassau 5.0 Ram I 5.0 South Dakota 3.7 Touchdown 5.3 LSD (.05) 0.9 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = very fine
TABLE 13 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Seedling Vigor of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Six Locations in the the U.S. and Canada* Variety Seedling Vigor Mean ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 6.2 Ba 73-366 6.3 Ba 73-381 6.3 Ba 74-114 5.3 Abbey 6.4 Able I 6.3 A-34 6.0 Banff 7.7 Baron 6.7 Classic 7.1 Coventry 6.1 Eclipse 6.1 Estate 6.1 Georgetown 7.0 Glade 6.7 Gnome 6.3 Haga 7.1 Kelly 6.6 Kenblue 7.4 Marquis 6.3 Merion 2.6 Merit 6.4 Midnight 5.4 Monopoly 7.1 Nassau 6.4 Ram I 6.5 South Dakota 6.7 Touchdown 5.8 LSD (.05) 0.7 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = Maximum vigor Locations: Fort Collins, CO; Post Falls, ID; North Brunswick, NJ; Adelphi NJ; Richmond Hill, Ontario; pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, OR.
Turf diseases are one of the major causes of inconsistent and poor turf performance. Ba 77-279 has been found to have a high level of resistance to leaf spot and melting out caused by Drechslera poae (formerly called Helminthosporium vagans). Ba 77-279 furthermore has been found to have a medium to high level of resistance to dollar spot caused by Sclerotinia homoecarpa and to several rust diseases caused by Puccinia spp.
Comparisons of disease incidence of Ba 77-279 as compared with other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties in regard to leaf spot, dollar spot, and rusts, are presented in Tables 14-18.
TABLE 14 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Leaf Spot Incidence in Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in Two (2) Tests Conducted at Seven (7) Locations in the U.S. Means Variety Test 1* Test 2** ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 6.0 7.4 Ba 73-366 4.3 5.1 Ba 73-381 2.0 5.8 Ba 74-114 4.7 6.8 Abbey 4.7 5.1 Able I 6.0 7.1 A-34 4.7 5.4 Banff 4.7 5.9 Baron 4.0 5.4 Classic 3.3 5.4 Coventry 3.7 5.8 Eclipse 6.3 7.4 Estate 4.0 5.9 Georgetown 6.0 6.3 Glade 3.0 4.8 Gnome 3.7 5.7 Haga 3.7 5.9 Kelly 4.7 5.1 Kenblue 1.7 1.8 Marquis 3.7 5.6 Merion 7.3 7.3 Merit 4.3 5.4 Midnight 5.7 6.6 Monopoly 4.3 5.2 Nassau 4.3 6.2 Ram I 4.3 4.9 South Dakota 1.0 1.8 Touchdown 5.3 6.3 LSD (.05) 1.5 0.7 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease *Locations: Pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, OR. **Locations: Post Falls, ID; North Brunswick and Adelphia, NJ; Marysville OH LSD
TABLE 15 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Dollar Spot Disease Incidence of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in Three (3) Tests Conducted at Five (5) Locations in the U.S. Means Variety Test A.sup.1 Test B.sup.2 Test C.sup.3 ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 8.3 7.8 7.0 Ba 73-366 8.3 7.1 6.2 Ba 73-381 7.3 6.6 6.4 Ba 74-114 8.3 7.9 4.8 Abbey 8.0 6.8 6.3 Able I 8.3 6.8 6.1 A-34 7.7 6.7 6.0 Banff 7.7 6.4 6.2 Baron 7.7 6.9 6.8 Classic 8.0 7.4 6.3 Coventry 7.7 5.9 5.9 Eclipse 8.3 7.5 7.2 Estate 8.3 5.3 5.6 Georgetown 8.0 6.9 6.1 Glade 7.7 7.0 6.4 Gnome 8.0 6.7 6.1 Haga 7.7 6.3 6.2 Kelly 8.0 7.3 6.3 Kenblue 8.0 6.8 6.8 Marquis 8.0 6.8 6.7 Merion 7.7 6.9 6.1 Merit 8.0 6.8 6.7 Midnight 8.3 8.0 6.6 Monopoly 8.0 7.1 6.7 Nassau 8.0 7.4 6.7 Ram I 7.3 6.0 4.9 South Dakota 8.0 7.3 5.8 Touchdown 8.0 6.8 6.1 LSD (.05) 0.9 1.1 0.8 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease .sup.1 Locations: Kingston, RI .sup.2 Locations: Urbana, IL; Adelphia, NJ; Kingston, RI; Haymarket, VA .sup.3 Locations: Urbana, IL; Silver Spring, MD; Kingston, RI
TABLE 16 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Stem Rust Disease Incidence in Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Kingston, R.I. Variety Stem Rust ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 7.3 Ba 73-366 6.7 Ba 73-381 7.3 Ba 74-114 5.7 Abbey 7.0 Able I 3.3 A-34 4.3 Banff 7.7 Baron 7.0 Classic 8.0 Coventry 6.7 Eclipse 4.0 Estate 6.3 Georgetown 8.7 Glade 7.7 Gnome 7.0 Haga 8.0 Kelly 8.0 Kenblue 5.7 Marquis 6.7 Merion 1.0 Merit 6.3 Midnight 8.0 Monopoly 6.3 Nassau 8.0 Ram I 8.0 South Dakota 4.3 Touchdown 2.3 LSD (.05) 1.4 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease
TABLE 17 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Leaf Rust Disease Incidence in Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Kingston, R.I. Variety Leaf Rust ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 6.0 Ba 74-114 6.7 Ba 73-366 5.7 Ba 73-381 6.3 Abbey 6.3 Able I 7.0 A-34 6.0 Banff 7.0 Baron 8.3 Classic 8.7 Coventry 7.0 Eclipse 5.7 Estate 6.3 Georgetown 7.7 Glade 7.0 Gnome 6.7 Haga 7.0 Kelly 5.0 Kenblue 6.7 Marquis 6.3 Merion 2.3 Merit 6.0 Midnight 6.0 Monopoly 5.3 Nassau 7.0 Ram I 6.7 South Dakota 6.7 Touchdown 3.7 LSD (.05) 2.4 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease
TABLE 18 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Stripe Rust Disease Incidence in Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in Tests Conducted at Three Locations.sup.1/ in Oregon Variety Stripe Rust ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 6.0 Ba 74-114 6.7 Ba 73-366 5.0 Ba 73-381 4.7 Abbey 4.3 Able I 6.0 A-34 5.0 Banff 6.0 Baron 6.0 Classic 6.3 Coventry 5.0 Eclipse 6.0 Estate 5.7 Georgetown 6.3 Glade 3.0 Gnome 4.7 Haga 6.3 Kelly 5.0 Kenblue 3.3 Marquis 5.3 Merion 3.7 Merit 5.0 Midnight 4.7 Monopoly 5.3 Nassau 5.3 Ram I 6.0 South Dakota 4.0 Touchdown 3.0 LSD (.05) 1.2 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease .sup.1/ Pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, Oregon.
Ba 77-279 has shown good drought tolerance and has a medium seed yielding capability. Comparisons for drought tolerance and seed yields of Ba 77-279 with other Kentucky Bluegrass are presented in Table 19-20.
TABLE 19 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Drought Tolerance of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Carbondale, IL. Variety Drought Tolerance ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 5.0 Ba 73-366 3.0 Ba 73-381 2.0 Ba 74-114 3.0 Abbey 3.7 Able I 4.0 A-34 4.0 Banff 4.7 Baron 3.0 Classic 3.7 Coventry 4.3 Eclipse 4.0 Estate 4.7 Georgetown 4.0 Glade 3.7 Gnome 3.3 Haga 4.0 Kelly 2.7 Kenblue 2.7 Marquis 3.3 Merion 3.7 Merit 2.7 Midnight 4.3 Monopoly 2.7 Nassau 3.3 Ram I 4.7 South Dakota 2.7 Touchdown 4.7 LSD (.05) 1.6 ______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no dormancy
TABLE 20 ______________________________________ A Comparison of Seed Yield in Pounds Per Acre of Ba 77-279 and Coventry Kentucky Bluegrass In Two (2) Tests Conducted at Gervais, Oregon. Test A Test B ______________________________________ Ba 77-279 672 382 Coventry 568 425 LSD (.05) 162 97 ______________________________________
Claims
1. A variety of Kentucky Bluegrass plant, substantially as shown and described, characterized by a high level of resistance to leaf spot and melting out disease; a medium to high level of resistance to several rust diseases and dollar spot; a dark green color throughout the growing season; a good level of drought tolerance; high quality dense persistent turf formation under a wide variety of environmental conditions; and a medium level of seed yielding capacity.
PP3156 | May 1972 | Fuchigami et al. |
PP3186 | May 1972 | Barenbrug et al. |
PP4336 | November 28, 1978 | Mayer et al. |
PP6280 | September 6, 1988 | Meier et al. |
PP6537 | January 17, 1989 | Meier et al. |
PP6538 | January 17, 1989 | Meier et al. |
PP6585 | February 7, 1989 | Meier et al. |
PP7831 | March 17, 1992 | Meier et al. |
PP8490 | December 7, 1993 | Meier et al. |
PP9036 | January 3, 1995 | Meier et al. |
PP9209 | July 18, 1995 | Meier et al. |
PP9611 | July 23, 1996 | Meier |
Type: Grant
Filed: Feb 23, 1996
Date of Patent: Jul 22, 1997
Assignee: OMS Investments, Inc. (Wilmington, DE)
Inventors: Virgil D. Meier (Marysville, OH), Jay B. Burr (S.E. Salem, OR)
Primary Examiner: James R. Feyrer
Application Number: 8/604,763
International Classification: A01H 500;