Selecting for increased starch content in the vegetative tissues of perennial ryegrass

Lesley B. Turner, Ian P. Armstead, Andrew J. Cairns, Mervyn O. Humphreys

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

Improving the available energy in natural fodders is the most desirable way of increasing the nitrogen use efficiency of livestock production. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) shows considerable genetic variation for carbohydrate content. Most of the carbohydrate is water-soluble, but starch is also present in vegetative tissues and is useful because it is readily available in the rumen and persists during ensiling. The relationships between fructan and starch accumulation in ryegrass can be genetically dissected by QTL analysis. QTL for fructan and starch do not overlap, so starch and fructan may be independently selectable. Groups of genotypes from a mapping family were polycrossed in 2002 to produce marker selection lines for further research.
Original languageEnglish
Pages322-325
Number of pages4
Publication statusPublished - 2003
EventProceedings 25th EUCARPIA Fodder Crops and Amenity Grasses Section Meeting - Brno, Czech Republic
Duration: 01 Sept 200304 Sept 2003

Conference

ConferenceProceedings 25th EUCARPIA Fodder Crops and Amenity Grasses Section Meeting
Country/TerritoryCzech Republic
CityBrno
Period01 Sept 200304 Sept 2003

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