BIDIRECTIONAL SELECTION FOR NEUTRAL DETERGENT FIBER AND YIELD IN REED CANARYGRASS

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Abstract
Increasing animal voluntary intake and forage yield are two important goals in breeding reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.). The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of one cycle of selection for both the concentration of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and yield in reed canarygrass. NDF is considered an indicator of intake potential. Five groups of five plants each were selected for NDF and forage yield from a reed canarygrass population previously selected for low alkaloid concentration and high seed retention. These five groups were designated: low NDF-Iow yield (LL), low NDF-high yield (LH), mean NDF-mean yield (MM), high NDF-low yield (HL) and high NDF-high yield (HH). Progenies from these selections were evaluated in spaced-plant nurseries at a reproductive stage of growth and at three vegetative harvests. Measurements were made for maturity, yield per plant, yield per area, area per plant, and NDF, acid detergent fiber (ADF), and crude protein (CP) were measured by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Selections for low NDF were associated with later maturity while selections for high NDF were associated with earlier maturity. Selection for lower yield per plant reduced yield per plant when evaluated at the reproductive growth in the LL population, but not at the vegetative growth stage. The high and low yield populations differed from each other for all traits except area per plant at the reproductive and vegetative harvests and yield per plant at the vegetative harvests, but were not different from MM. Populations selected for high and low NDF were significantly different for NDF, ADF and crude protein at both the reproductive and the vegetative harvests. In all cases, except for NDF at the reproductive harvests, there was no significant interaction between yield and NDF selection. Apparently, selection for yield per plant and NDF was effective in creating divergent populations. However, more than one cycle of selection are needed in a breeding program to obtain populations significantly different from the original population.Key words: Phalaris arundinacea L., neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, crude protein