Ryegrass breeding – balancing trait priorities

In all ryegrass breeding programmes it is necessary to select a range of traits within different cultivar types, varying in ploidy and flowering time. The traits selected in ryegrass breeding can be broadly grouped into production traits such as yield, quality and persistence; those seed production traits crucial for delivery of the cultivar, as well as those traits that can benefit the environment, or allow ryegrass to be used for biofuel production. The emphasis placed on each trait will depend on its economic value within the various farming systems where each cultivar will ultimately be used, as well as the potential to make genetic gain in each trait. In all cases multiple trait selection will be required, to develop a cultivar improved for key traits of interest but importantly the cultivar must not have unacceptable performance for any trait. Where the genetic variation is inadequate within perennial ryegrass it may be necessary to enhance ryegrass diversity. In the future this could be achieved through targeted introgression from the closely related Festuca species, or through introduction of genes via genetic modification. Funding of ryegrass breeding internationally will increasingly be subject to the economic success of a few larger seed companies as Government funding for field-based breeding is diminishing and shifting focus to more basic research, often of a molecular nature. Ensuring this expensive basic research and associated molecular technologies are used effectively in ryegrass breeding programmes will remain a challenge when seed companies operating field-based programmes are vulnerable to considerable economic pressure.