Details for: PI 653686, Agropyron fragile (Roth) P. Candargy, 'VAVILOV II'

Vavilov II Siberian wheatgrass (Agropyron fragile (Roth) Candargy) was developed for use on arid and semiarid rangelands as a rapid establishing revegetation grass in the Intermountain West, Great Basin, and Northern Great Plains Regions of western U.S.A. Vavilov II is a broad-based 50-clone synthetic selected for persistence and overall plant and seedling establishment in response to drought. During the establishment year, Vavilov II had significantly (P<0.05) higher numbers of seedlings per unit area (m2) using a frequency grid when planted at a rate of one pure live seed (PLS) cm-1 at Yakima, WA (est. fall 2002; 52 vs 23%); Fillmore, UT (est. fall 2004; 79 vs 54%); Dugway, UT (est. fall 2005; 79 vs 52%); and Curlew Valley, ID (est. fall 2002; 70 vs 40%) (Fig. 2). Vavilov II was more persistence after establishment (as measured by percent stand) Vavilov at Yakima, WA (68 vs 44%); Fillmore, UT (84 vs 62%); Curlew Valley, ID (69 vs 55%); and Malta, ID (97 vs 91%) (Fig. 3). Vavilov II germinated in seven days compared to 10 days on sandy loam, loam, and sandy soil types. At the Coffee Point test site, Vavilov II had the highest plant density of all accessions evaluated at 15.9 plants m-2 compared to 8.0 plants m-2 for Vavilov. On 7 September 2007 the second evaluation was completed, and Vavilov II had 15.7 plants m-2 and Vavilov had 7.4 plants m-2. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) were used to compare Vavilov II to Vavilov, P-27, and a breeding population Kazak Siberian wheatgrass. The six AFLP primer pairs amplified 728 bands that were present in more than 5% and less than 95% of the individuals. Across all four cultivars/populations, 88% of variation was within, while 12% was between. The most similar cultivars were Vavilov and Vavilov II. The significant variation among cultivars/populations allows for molecular markers that distinguish the varieties.

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• Jensen, K. B., A. J. Palazzo, B. L. Waldron, J. G. Robins, B. S. Bushman, D. A. Johnson, & D. G. Ogle. 2009. ‘Vavilov II’, a New Siberian Wheatgrass Cultivar with Improved Persistence and Establishment on Rangelands. J. Pl. Registr. 3(1):061. DOI: 10.3198/jpr2008.04.0215crc. Number of accessions cited: 1

• Jensen, K. B., A. J. Palazzo, B. L. Waldron, J. G. Robins, B. S. Bushman, D. A. Johnson, & D. G. Ogle. 2009. ‘Vavilov II’, a New Siberian Wheatgrass Cultivar with Improved Persistence and Establishment on Rangelands. J. Pl. Registr. 3(1):061. DOI: 10.3198/jpr2008.04.0215crc.

U.S. Plant Variety Protection