Narrative
Lucerne
Medicago sativa
'Grasslands Kaituna' syn B80
Application No: 1996/037 Accepted: 28 May 1996.
Applicant: New Zealand Pastoral Agriculture Research Institute Limited, Hamilton, New Zealand
and W-L Research Inc., Bakersfield, USA.
Agent: AgResearch Grasslands, Albury, NSW.
Characteristics - refer to table of comparisons
Plant: habit semi erect, cool season growth intermediate (scale 5) , medium narrow crowned. Leaf: medium light green. Flower: mid season, *78% moderately dark purple, 13.5% dark purple, 3% purple variegated, 5.5% light purple. Pest and disease resistance: resistant to stem nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci), Race 1 Colletotrichum crown rot (Colletotrichum trifolii), Phytophthora root rot (Phytophthora megasperma), and blue green aphid ( Acyrthosiphon kondoi).
*Agriculture Handbook No.24. U.S. Department of Agriculture 'A System for Visually Classifying Alfalfa Flower Colour.
Origin and Breeding Controlled pollination: 'Grasslands Kaituna' resulted from a strain cross between experimental lines AG3E and 83T34 in 1983 at Lincoln. AgReasearch Grasslands and WL Research Inc. own these experimental lines respectively. Selection criteria: Syn 1 seed of the strain was screened and selected in 1 cycle for resistance to blue green aphid (Acyrthosiphon kondoi) by WL Research in 1984. Selections from this screening were open pollinated in an isolation cage at Bakersfield, California in 1985. The resultant seed was named B80. This seed was sown and screened to determine levels of disease and pest resistance in New Zealand and the USA in 1986. It was sown in field trials to evaluate yield potential in New Zealand and Tasmania commencing in 1986. Propagation: seed. Breeder: Mr Grant Purves, New Zealand Pastoral Agriculture Research Institute Limited and Dr M. Peterson, WL Research Inc. USA.
Choice of Comparators: Comparators were selected after consultation with the breeder, PBRO examiner and sources involved in the plant/seed industry. Selection was made on the basis of variety dormancy, disease tolerances and morphology.
Comparative Trial: Comparators: (Field trial) 'CRLU4' (Proposed name 'Grasslands Crusader',) 'Grasslands Oranga', 'Grasslands Otaio', 'P5454', 'Quadrella', 'Trifecta', 'Wairau', 'WL322', 'WL323', 'WL Southern Special'(WLSS), 'Genesis', 'Aurora', 'L69'. (Nematode trial) 'Ranger', 'Lahontan', 'Vernema', 'WL Southern Special'. Location: (field trial) AgResearch Grasslands Research Centre, Canterbury, New Zealand and AgResearch Grasslands Research Centre, Palmerston North, New Zealand, (Lat. 40'30s, elevation 33 m) Aug 1996 - Mar 1998. Conditions: seedlings raised in trays in controlled glasshouse, hardened outside and planted in field on 15/10/96. Soil type Kairanga silt loam series. Trial design: spaced plants at 60cm between plants and rows in randomised block design of 10 plants per replicate in 10 replicates. Measurements/assessments on all available plants. Nematode test as per Standard Tests to Characterise Alfalfa Cultivars, Third Edition, 1991, North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference. Test conducted by Crop Characteristics Inc., USA 24/11/98. Aphid screen test: 10 replicates of 25 plants in glasshouse environment. Randomised rows in 5 seed flats. Inoculated 3/11/98 at cotyledon stage followed by two further inoculations on 9-13/11/98 respectively. Scored 7 December 1998 using 'Standard Tests to Characterise Alfalfa Cultivars' published by North American Alfalfa Improvement Conferences. Plant height measured 0n 7/12/98. Test conducted by Mr Grant Purves, AgResearch Grasslands, Lincoln, New Zealand.
Prior Applications and Sales
Country Year Current Status Name applied
New Zealand 1997 Granted 'Grasslands Kaituna'
Description: Jeff E. Miller, AgResearch Grasslands, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Comparison of Medicago varieties (Field trial)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
'Grasslands 'CRLU4' *'P5454' *'Quadrella' *'Trifecta' *'Wairau' *'WL322' *'WL323' *'WLSS' *'Genesis' *'Aurora' *'L69'
Kaituna'
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NATURAL PLANT HEIGHT (cm) (28/4/97)
mean 22.7 23.4 15.8 27.4 24.0 16.5 17.0 15.5 24.1 27.7 27.8 34.0
std deviation 6.6 6.3 4.7 7.8 6.8 4.0 4.2 3.9 6.8 7.2 7.7 5.7
LSD/sig. 3.0 ns P0.01 P0.01 ns P0.01 P0.01 P0.01 ns P0.01 P0.01 P0.01
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NATURAL PLANT HEIGHT (cm)(15/9/97)
mean 22.9 21.3 18.5 28.5 25.0 15.4 15.6 14.6 22.8 28.7 29.1 33.1
std deviation 7.6 7.4 6.3 9.0 8.4 4.7 5.2 5.1 8.2 8.7 8.6 7.9
LSD/sig. 3.3 ns P0.01 P0.01 ns P0.01 P0.01 P0.01 ns P0.01 P0.01 P0.01
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NATURAL PLANT HEIGHT (cm)(5/11/97)
mean 24.4 24.0 23.5 25.0 25.0 20.9 23.0 21.3 25.8 26.2 26.0 26.5
std deviation 4.7 4.2 4.9 5.1 5.2 3.7 4.7 4.4 4.6 4.5 5.5 4.6
LSD/sig. 2.5 ns ns ns ns P0.01 ns P0.01 ns ns ns ns
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NATURAL PLANT HEIGHT (cm)(8/12/97)
mean 41.0 44.1 49.0 44.6 41.5 36.7 39.5 38.0 45.2 44.9 46.0 50.9
std deviation 8.4 7.5 8.5 8.9 8.6 8.3 7.9 8.5 8.7 8.9 19.8 7.8
LSD/sig. 6.0 ns P0.01 ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns P0.01
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NATURAL PLANT HEIGHT(cm) (10/2/98)
mean 65.2 63.9 66.7 63.3 63.3 56.5 57.6 64.3 65.4 65.0 61.9 65.1
std deviation 9.2 7.9 10.1 8.2 7.6 8.0 7.7 7.6 8.1 8.1 8.6 6. 7
LSD/sig. 3.7 ns ns ns ns P0.01 P0.01 ns ns ns ns ns
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NATURAL PLANT HEIGHT(cm)(31/3/98)
mean 54.4 53.0 54.4 56.0 55.1 41.8 43.7 48.9 54.1 56.7 54.7 56.8
std deviation 9.0 9.4 10.3 8.8 8.1 8.1 8.7 8.4 9.2 8.5 7.9 8.7
LSD/sig. 4.4 ns ns ns ns P0.01 P0.01 P0.01 ns ns ns ns
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DAYS TO MEAN FLOWERING FROM 27/11/97 ( Date of first plant in the trial to flower)
mean 23.7 24.1 23.0 25.2 28.4 24.3 28.7 24.6 26.0 27.2 26.5 26.5
std deviation 8.7 7.7 6.9 7.4 7.4 8.0 7.5 7.3 7.3 7.1 8.1 6.5
LSD/sig. 2.8 ns ns ns P0.01 ns P0.01 ns ns P0.01 P0.01 P0.01
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*FLOWER COLOUR GROUPING NUMBERS
(a)Dark purple 12 11 5 1 2 4 15 10 13 2 0 0
(b)Mod. purple 69 70 83 89 82 55 68 51 69 83 85 85
(c)Light purple 5 2 5 4 2 5 0 2 6 2 5 6
(d)Variegated 3 12 3 0 1 24 11 31 5 0 1 1
(n) (89) (95) (96) (94) (87) (88) (94) (94) (93) (86) (91) (92)
Flower colour assessment as per U.S. Dept. of Ag. Handbook No.424. ' A system for visually classifying Alfalfa flower colour'.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PLANT GROWTH HABIT ( 1=Prostrate, 5 = erect)
3.2 3.3 2.2 4.0 3.7 2.4 2.4 2.2 3.4 3.9 3.8 4.5
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PLANT CROWN TYPE AT MATURITY
medium medium broad medium medium broad medium broad medium narrow narrow narrow
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Comparison of Medicago varieties (Nematode and Aphid resistant trials)
______________________________________________________________________________
'Grasslands *'Wairau' *'WLSS'
Kaituna'
______________________________________________________________________________
STEM NEMATODE RESISTANCE (% Resistance score 1 & 2) (n=168)
43 n/a 7
______________________________________________________________________________
STEM NEMATODE RESISTANCE (Adjusted to Vernema=60%) (n=168)
52 n/a 8
______________________________________________________________________________
AVERAGE SEVERITY SYMPTOM INDEX (ASI)( Score 1=no symptom, 5=severe symptom)
2.9 n/a 4.2
______________________________________________________________________________
BLUE GREEN APHID RESISTANCE ( Score 1=no symptom, 5=severe symptom)
2.97 4.13 3.62
______________________________________________________________________________
PERCENTAGE OF RESISTANT PLANTS TO BLUE GREEN APHID
41 3 15
______________________________________________________________________________
PLANT HEIGHT (mm)
mean 31.71 16.89 22.75
std deviation 3.62 2.31 3.03
LSD/sig 4.79 P0.01 P0.01
______________________________________________________________________________