Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: December 31, 1999
Publication Date: August 31, 2000
Interpretive Summary: The United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, in cooperation with the Oregon, Idaho and Washington Agricultural Experiment Stations announce the release of ARS-1221 big trefoil (Lotus uliginosus Schkuhr.) germplasm. Big trefoil is a non- bloating forage legume that is adapted to poorer drained soils than birdsfoot trefoil. No other broad genetic base big trefoil germplasm are available for breeding and experimental purposes. The merit of ARS- 1221 is its broad genetic base that has been compiled into a single source. This enhanced germplasm will allow plant breeders to utilize the diversity of the USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) collection without having to evaluate all accessions.
Technical Abstract: ARS-1221 big trefoil (Lotus uliginosus Schkuhr.) is the seed resulting from two cycles of intercrossing plants that trace to 80 foreign intro- ductions and two domestic cultivars. The introductions were originally collected in or acquired from Belgium, Germany, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Turkey and obtained from the USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) collection holdings that were held before 1994. The two domestic cultivars, Kaiser and Marshfield, were obtained from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Plant Materials Center in Corvallis, OR. Known tetraploid (2n=4x=24) cultivars were excluded from ARS-1221, but some tetraploid genotypes may naturally occur in source seeds from wild populations. No selection was practiced in any cycle. The source materials were intercrossed through two cycles to increase the frequency of new gene combinations, and to provide a base germplasm for selection of new cultivars. The merit of ARS-1221 is its broad genetic base that has been compiled into a single source. Such enhanced germplasm is important because it will allow plant breeders to utilize the diversity of the NPGS collection without having to evaluate all accessions.