Summary
Eight interspecific hybrids between P. pratensis and P. longifolia were obtained; six were fully fertile and sexual. Canonical analysis and generalised distances calculated using data from a spaced plant field trial were used together with somatic chromosome counts to confirm hybrid origin. Phenotypic uniformity of third generation hybrid families was assessed; 22.5% of the families were uniform and probably apomictic and were morphologically more like P. pratensis than P. longifolia. Total yield from eleven of the sixteen probably apomictic families examined was similar to that of P. pratensis biotypes, but the seasonal growth pattern was similar to P. longifolia where 31.4% of the total seasonal yield was recorded at the first harvest compared with 6.6% from P. pratensis.
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Williamson, C.J., Watson, P.J. Production and description of interspecific hybrids between Poa pratensis and P. Longifolia . Euphytica 29, 715–725 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00023218
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00023218