BA 73-366 Kentucky bluegrass

Abstract

A variety of Kentucky bluegrass having a medium to high level of disease resistance, a desirable green color throughout the growing season, good drought recovery capability, a medium to high quality dense presistent turf forming ability under a wide variety of environmental conditions, and a high level of seed yielding capacity.

Description

BACKGROUND

Kentucky bluegrasses have been disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,156 which issued on May 9, 1972; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,186 which issued on May 23, 1972; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,336 which issued on Nov. 28, 1978; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,280 which issued on Sep. 6, 1988; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,537 which issued on Jan. 17, 1989; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,538 which issued on Jan. 17, 1989 and U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,585 which issued on Feb. 7, 1989; U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,831 which issued on Mar. 17, 1992 and U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 07/821,403 which was filed on Jan. 14, 1992, now U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,490.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

The present invention relates to a new and improved variety of Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis, that has been designated Ba 73-366.

Ba 73-366 plant material originated as a single plant selection from the open pollinated progeny of a Kentucky bluegrass seed parent developed and maintained in the O. M. Scott plant nursery at Marysville, Ohio. This seed parent was identified as Ba 65-125 in the O. M. Scott breeding program. At the time of selection, the Ba 73-366 plant appeared different from other progency plants which originated from apomictically produced seeds of Ba 65-125. As a result of this selection, a distinct variety was produced and asexually propagated by rhizomes, tillers and disseminules. Seed of Ba 73-366 was produced first at Marysville, Ohio and later at Gervais, Ore. This seed was used to plant turf performance evaluation trials and later seed production fields.

Asexual production of Ba 73-366 by propagules (tillers and rhizomes) and by disseminules (modified caryopses produced by apomixis) has consistently produced progeny plants indistinguishable from the mother plant. The apomixis level of Ba 73-366 is approximately 99% based upon examining seedling characteristics of approximately 100 to 150 seedlings from five different crop years in a growth chamber.

Ba 73-366 has a number of highly desirable characteristics including a medium to high level of resistance to Dreschslera spp. (formerly called Helminthosporium spp.) that causes leaf spot, melting out and crown rot; Puccinia spp. that causes several types of rust infections; and Sclerotinia homoeocarpa that causes dollar spot. Ba 73-366 has an attractive leafy turf type growth habit; moderately wide leaf blades; attractive green color which can be maintained throughout the entire growing season; good drought recovery capability and good turf performance as evidenced by consistently good to high scores for quality, color and density. Ba 73-366 has a high seed yield potential in the bluegrass seed production region of northwestern U.S.A.

In comparison with a number of other Kentucky bluegrasses, Ba 73-366 differs significantly in regard to the following morphological characteristics: (1) length and width of panicle, (2) whorls per panicle, (3) branches per whorl and (4) number of florets per spikelet.

Ba 73-366 has average size spikelets and glumes, flag leaf of average length but broader in width and a tendency towards a thinner leaf. Ba 73-366 has a statistically significant large flag leaf ligule and a lower level of sheath color than most other Kentucky bluegrasses tested.

Ba 73-366 has a long peduncle, average peduncle width, a culm length significantly longer than a number of other bluegrasses and a high number of nodes per culm. Also, it has an average size vegetative leaf in length and width but a statistically significant thicker leaf and leaf margin hairs. Ba 73-366 has significantly more hairs on the back side of the ligule. Under close mowing as practiced under lawn maintenance conditions, Ba 73-366 has a broader leaf blade than a number of other Kentucky bluegrasses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a Ba 73-366 Kentucky bluegrass panicle;

FIG. 2 is Ba 73-366 Kentucky bluegrass seed; and

FIG. 3 is a Ba 73-366 Kentucky bluegrass plant shortly after completing anthesis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

Ba 73-366 Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is perennial with creeping rhizomes forming a dense turf. When plants overwinter in the field under freezing temperatures and are then brought into the greenhouse during late winter to continue growth undisturbed by clipping under moderate temperatures (60.degree.-80.degree. F.), culms are erect averaging 42.7 cm in length with an average of 4.1 nodes per culm. The uppermost internode averages 9.2 cm and the peduncle averages 26.4 cm in length and 0.704 mm in width. The flag leaf averages 4.5 cm in length, 3.6 mm in width and 0.180 mm in thickness and a ligule length of 1.5 mm. The vegetative leaf averages 22.9 cm in length, 3.8 mm in width, 0.401 mm in thickness and a ligule length of 0.23 mm. The panicle has an average length of 88.88 mm, width of 68.4 mm, and 8.8 whorls. The lowest whorl has an average of 4.3 branches and the third whorl from the bottom of the panicle has an average of 3.7 branches. The average spikelet in the lowest whorl is 4.6 mm in length, 2.5 mm in width and has 2.6 florets with an outer glume of 2.8 mm and an inner glume of 3.2 mm in length. A spikelet from the third whorl from the bottom of the panicles is 4.7 mm in length, 2.6 mm in width and has 2.8 florets with an outer glume of 2.8 mm and an inner glume of 3.1 mm in length. Conditioned seed has an average amount of hair on the keel located on the dorsal side of the lemma. The seed of Ba 73-366 is 3.04 mm in length, 0.91 mm in width and a rachilla length of 0.80 mm with approximately 1,025,586 seeds per pound.

Comparisons of Ba 73-366 with other varieties in terms of seed dimensions and on seed numbers per pound are shown in Tables 1 and 2 as follows:

TABLE 1______________________________________Seed and Rachilla Measurements and Lemma Hair ofBa 73-366 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass VarietiesAfter Conditioning. Length Width Rachilla Lemma*Variety (mm) (mm) (mm) Hair______________________________________Ba 73-366 3.04 0.91 0.80 4.4Abbey 2.97 0.89 0.80 3.8Adelphi 2.70 0.84 0.65 4.4America 2.40 0.68 0.68 2.8Baron 3.08 0.81 0.71 5.0Bristol 2.94 0.88 0.73 4.3Chateau 2.81 0.86 0.71 4.5Coventry 2.71 0.81 0.70 4.0Eclipse 2.77 0.83 0.68 3.5Georgetown 2.94 0.82 0.74 4.9Gnome 2.78 0.83 0.75 4.1Kelly 3.07 0.89 0.75 4.2Marquis 2.97 0.87 0.83 4.7Midnight 2.94 0.76 0.78 5.7Nassau 3.07 0.86 0.68 3.4Ram I 3.23 0.89 0.80 6.0Touchdown 2.93 0.88 0.71 4.6Victa 3.00 0.80 0.82 3.5LSD (.05) 0.16 0.05 0.13 0.86______________________________________ *Rating Scale 0-9: 9 = abundant row of hairs along keel. TABLE 2______________________________________Comparison of Seed Numbers Per Pound of Ba 73-366 andOther Bluegrass Varieties After Conditioning.Variety Seeds per Pounds______________________________________Ba 73-366 1,025,586Abbey 1,003,037Adelphi 1,383,976America 1,659,824Baron 1,051,693Bristol 1,270,821Chateau 1,300,105Coventry 1,246,200Eclipse 1,335,668Georgetown 1,431,000Gnome 1,017,641Kelly 921,166Marquis 1,054,642Midnight 1,227,000Nassua 1,127,130Ram 1 1,214,000Touchdown 1,211,000Victa 1,038,298______________________________________

Since environmental conditions such as soil and climate may influence morphological characteristics to some extent, comparisons of morphological characteristics of Ba 73-366 are made with other Kentucky bluegrass varieties in Tables 3-8.

TABLE 3______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Panicles of Ba 73-366 andOther Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse atMarysville, Ohio Number ofPanicle Panicle Panicle Number of Branches Nod- Length Width Whorls Lower ThirdVariety ding* (mm) (mm) Per Panicle Whorl Whorl______________________________________Ba 73-366 1.6 88.8 68.4 8.8 4.3 3.7Abbey 1.6 80.4 59.3 9.3 3.8 3.3Adelphi 1.8 106.8 76.4 10.0 3.6 3.0America 2.3 67.7 51.1 8.8 3.3 3.5Baron 2.2 92.6 71.0 10.0 3.4 2.8Bristol 2.0 85.5 61.5 8.4 2.8 2.7Chateau 2.9 65.2 57.3 8.5 3.3 2.8Coventry 2.5 64.0 54.2 8.4 3.3 2.5Eclipse 1.3 89.2 74.0 10.7 3.3 2.1George- 1.0 80.0 57.0 7.4 2.1 2.6townGnome 1.1 80.6 56.0 10.6 4.6 3.9Kelly 2.0 88.0 70.2 9.8 4.6 3.7Marquis 1.1 82.0 63.0 10.3 3.9 3.6Midnight 2.0 75.8 48.4 7.1 2.9 3.0Nassau 2.2 91.2 68.6 10.0 2.5 2.1Ram I 1.3 67.7 47.0 7.3 3.0 3.2Touch- 1.1 73.1 75.0 7.6 2.1 2.3downVicta 1.7 74.9 58.3 10.0 4.7 3.5LSD 0.68 7.35 8.62 0.66 0.72 0.5(.05)______________________________________ *Panicle nodding rated 1-9: 1 = Erect; 9 = 90.degree. nodding TABLE 4______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Spikelets and Numbers of Floretsof Ba 73-366 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in theGreenhouse at Marysville, Ohio Number of Spikelet Florets Lower Whorl Third Whorl Per Spikelet Length Width Length Width Lower ThirdVariety (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm) Whorl Whorl______________________________________Ba 73-366 4.6 2.5 4.72. 2.6 2.6 2.8Abbey 4.4 2.2 4.5 2.2 3.0 3.0Adelphi 4.6 2.2 4.8 2.2 4.4 4.4America 4.6 2.2 4.4 2.3 4.5 4.3Baron 5.4 2.8 5.4 3.1 4.0 4.2Bristol 4.9 2.4 5.0 2.5 4.2 4.5Chateau 4.4 2.4 4.4 2.4 3.4 3.5Coventry 4.4 2.2 4.5 2.4 3.2 3.5Eclipse 4.6 2.4 4.6 2.4 3.6 3.6Georgetown 5.0 2.3 5.0 2.6 4.8 4.9Gnome 4.6 2.5 4.6 2.9 3.2 3.2Kelly 5.1 2.5 5.2 2.8 3.7 3.8Marquis 4.3 2.2 4.4 2.3 3.1 2.9Midnight 5.3 2.5 5.5 2.4 4.4 4.7Nassau 4.7 2.6 4.8 3.0 4.2 4.3Ram I 5.4 2.6 5.3 2.8 3.6 3.4Touchdown 5.1 2.9 4.8 2.8 4.1 4.0Victa 4.5 2.5 4.5 2.4 3.3 3.2LSD (.05) 0.41 0.35 0.38 0.35 0.58 0.53______________________________________ TABLE 5______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Glumes of Ba 73-366 and OtherKentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse atMarysville, Ohio______________________________________ Glume Length Outer Inner Lowest Third Lowest ThirdVariety Whorl Whorl Whorl Whorl______________________________________Ba 73-366 2.8 2.8 3.2 3.1Abbey 2.7 2.7 3.1 3.1Adelphi 2.7 2.6 3.0 3.1America 2.1 2.1 2.5 2.5Baron 3.1 3.2 3.6 3.7Bristol 2.8 3.0 3.3 3.4Chateau 2.8 2.9 3.1 3.2Coventry 2.7 2.8 3.1 3.1Eclipse 3.0 3.0 3.4 3.4Georgetown 2.8 2.8 3.1 3.1Gnome 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.3Kelly 3.0 3.1 3.4 3.5Marquis 2.8 2.7 3.1 3.1Midnight 2.6 2.6 3.0 3.1Nassau 2.6 2.7 2.9 3.0Ram I 2.9 3.0 3.6 3.5Touchdown 3.3 3.3 3.8 3.8Victa 2.8 2.7 3.1 3.1LSD (.05) 0.23 0.22 0.22 0.23______________________________________ Glume Hairs Lowest Whorl Third WhorlVariety Outer Inner Outer Inner______________________________________Ba 73-366 1.7 1.3 1.3 2.0Abbey 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.0Adelphi 0.6 2.7 1.1 1.9America 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.3Baron 4.8 4.4 4.2 4.6Bristol 1.0 2.2 0.8 2.2Chateau 1.5 2.6 2.0 1.8Coventry 1.5 2.7 1.6 2.4Eclipse 1.5 1.9 1.8 1.9Georgetown 1.7 2.7 1.2 2.5Gnome 1.0 1.9 1.2 1.6Kelly 1.3 1.5 1.1 0.8Marquis 0.9 1.1 1.7 1.8Midnight 1.8 2.8 1.0 2.4Nassau 2.1 2.6 4.2 4.4Ram I 1.1 2.3 0.7 1.2Touchdown 0.7 2.1 1.1 1.4Victa 0.8 1.1 1.1 1.3LSD (.05) 0.85 0.92 0.89 0.87______________________________________ TABLE 6______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Flag Leaves of Ba 73-366 andOther Kentucky BluegrassVarieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville Ohio______________________________________ Length Width Thickness LeafVariety (cm) (mm) (mm) Angle.sup.(a)______________________________________Ba 73-366 4.5 3.6 0.180 5.1Abbey 3.8 3.4 0.145 2.7Adelphi 5.7 3.4 0.178 5.2America 4.3 2.6 0.211 4.6Baron 7.0 4.2 0.152 9.2Bristol 4.3 3.2 0.211 2.3Chateau 4.0 2.7 0.193 3.4Coventry 3.7 3.0 0.140 0.7Eclipse 3.9 3.2 0.193 8.7Georgetown 5.7 2.8 0.221 1.9Gnome 4.5 3.5 0.185 4.3Kelly 4.8 4.1 0.178 3.1Marquis 5.5 3.6 0.241 2.7Midnight 3.8 2.6 0.189 1.1Nassau 6.0 3.7 0.191 5.9Ram I 3.4 3.1 0.191 1.0Touchdown 4.1 2.7 0.163 3.4Victa 3.9 3.7 0.267 2.1LSD (.05) 1.0 0.42 0.0249 2.49______________________________________ Leaf Ligule Leaf SheathVariety Curve.sup.(b) (mm) Margin Ligule Color______________________________________Ba 73-366 4.4 1.5 0.4 2.2 0.5Abbey 4.1 1.3 0.8 1.6 0.2Adelphi 5.0 1.1 1.8 1.6 0.4America 5.0 0.6 0.4 0.7 1.9Baron 4.4 1.2 1.0 3.8 2.6Bristol 5.0 0.6 0.4 1.9 2.0Chateau 2.0 0.9 1.1 3.1 0.3Coventry 4.3 0.9 0.8 1.7 2.0Eclipse 5.0 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.2Georgetown 5.0 0.6 0.6 2.0 2.0Gnome 5.0 0.8 0.9 3.2 1.5Kelly 4.4 1.5 1.1 2.5 2.2Marquis 4.6 0.8 0.5 3.8 1.5Midnight 5.0 0.4 0.4 0.3 2.0Nassau 4.7 1.1 2.6 2.4 0.8Ram I 4.8 0.7 0.5 1.3 2.0Touchdown 4.1 1.1 1.0 1.0 7.7Victa 4.6 1.3 1.0 0.8 0.5LSD (.05) 0.44 0.17 0.47 0.70 0.76______________________________________ .sup.(a) Degrees from the stem .sup.(b) Scale 1-9: 1 curve up; 5 no curve; 9 curves down TABLE 7______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Peduncles, Culms, Node NumbersPer Culm and Internode Length of Ba 73-366 and Other KentuckyBluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, Ohio Top Peduncle Peduncle Culm Number of Internode Length Width Length Nodes LengthVariety (cm) (mm) (cm) Per Culm (cm)______________________________________Ba 73-366 26.4 0.704 42.7 4.1 9.2Abbey 23.2 0.655 41.3 4.1 11.0Adelphi 24.5 0.665 40.0 4.0 10.4America 16.2 0.622 31.8 3.1 11.0Baron 34.0 0.701 52.8 4.2 12.8Bristol 22.9 0.734 43.5 4.0 12.6Chateau 20.7 0.607 38.9 4.4 9.9Coventry 19.6 0.487 34.7 4.5 7.9Eclipse 23.7 0.658 39.2 4.9 9.9George- 21.7 0.683 37.5 3.2 11.1townGnome 19.4 0.836 35.3 3.1 9.2Kelly 29.4 0.752 46.6 3.6 11.8Marquis 27.1 0.831 34.1 3.4 7.8Midnight 20.5 0.722 29.5 2.8 7.6Nassau 25.0 0.663 36.0 3.9 7.4Ram I 22.2 0.694 30.5 2.5 6.6Touch- 23.6 0.519 38.0 4.0 8.4downVicta 21.2 0.808 37.9 3.7 10.3LSD (.05) 3.17 0.774 3.32 0.44 1.94______________________________________ TABLE 8______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Vegetative Leavesof Ba 73-366 and Other Kentucky BluegrassVarieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville Ohio______________________________________ Leaf Length Width Thickness Leaf Curv.sup.(b)Variety (cm) (mm) (mm) Angle.sup.(a) ature______________________________________Ba 73-366 22.9 3.8 0.401 53.0 7.1Abbey 20.7 3.6 0.277 51.3 7.4Adelphi 19.4 3.7 0.279 67.0 4.6America 21.4 3.1 0.325 66.0 6.4Baron 18.2 4.3 0.290 35.0 4.4Bristol 18.2 3.7 0.320 65.5 6.9Chateau 23.1 3.3 0.328 39.7 5.4Coventry 23.4 3.6 0.249 63.0 7.3Eclipse 20.3 4.4 0.302 65.5 5.4Georgetown 19.5 3.6 0.287 56.7 5.8Gnome 18.2 2.9 0.290 43.2 6.6Kelly 22.8 3.9 0.300 55.5 7.0Marquis 19.7 3.7 0.376 46.4 7.8Midnight 19.5 3.5 0.310 63.3 5.0Nassau 16.3 3.7 0.292 63.2 4.9Ram I 19.1 3.6 0.271 70.8 6.5Touchdown 16.7 3.7 0.243 51.3 4.0Victa 21.5 3.6 0.361 56.3 6.7LSD (.05) 3.49 0.43 0.0439 15.90 1.54______________________________________Ligule Hairs.sup.(c) Leaf.sup.(d) Length Leaf Rough- SheathVariety (mm) Ligule Collar Margin ness Color.sup.(e)______________________________________Ba 73-366 0.23 5.2 0.0 4.2 8.5 0.0Abbey 0.32 4.4 0.0 2.8 7.7 0.0Adelphi 0.34 2.6 0.0 3.4 8.8 0.0America 0.12 1.7 0.0 2.1 8.4 2.0Baron 0.33 4.6 0.0 3.6 7.4 0.4Bristol 0.12 2.6 0.0 3.0 8.9 2.0Chateau 0.22 3.3 0.0 3.1 7.8 0.5Coventry 0.32 3.1 0.0 2.4 8.1 0.3Eclipse 0.38 2.8 0.0 2.6 9.0 0.2George- 0.14 2.5 0.0 2.4 8.5 2.0townGnome 0.23 1.6 0.9 0.8 7.5 1.4Kelly 0.34 4.6 0.0 2.4 8.8 0.0Marquis 0.21 3.6 0.3 1.1 6.8 1.1Midnight 0.10 1.3 0.0 1.6 7.7 2.0Nassau 0.34 2.5 0.0 3.3 8.5 1.4Ram I 0.09 1.8 0.0 2.0 7.7 2.0Touchdown 0.29 1.4 0.0 1.3 7.9 8.0Victa 0.26 2.3 0.0 1.7 7.9 0.1LSD (.05) 0.04 0.79 0.21 0.70 0.89 0.57______________________________________ .sup.(a) Degrees from stem .sup.(b) Scale 1-9: 1 = curvature up; 5 = no curvature; 9 = curvature dow .sup.(c) Scale 0-9: 0 = none 9 = many .sup.(d) Scale 1-9: 1 = rough 9 = smooth .sup.(e) Scale 0-9: 0 = no color 9 = dark purple

Ba 73-366 has performed well in regions throughout the U.S.A., as exhibited by a good to high level of turf quality ratings in a number of locations in comparison to other varieties. In addition, Ba 73-336 has a pleasant medium green color which can be maintained throughout the growing season, and has good winter color. Comparisons of Ba 73-366 with other varieties for quality, genetic color and winter color are set forth hereinafter in Tables 9-11. During mid-May while the turf was actively growing with adequate nutrient and water availability, readings of the vegetative color of Ba 73-366 were taken in full sun with several actively growing leaves being compared, one at a time, utilizing color chips from the Munsell Book of Color as a reference. On this basis, the color of Ba 73-366 was determined to be 5 GY 4/4. During the same time period, the color of similar leaves of other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties were determined by the same procedure to be as follows: Ba 73-540 - 5 GY 4/4; Abbey - 5 GY 3/4; and Coventry - 5 GY 4/4.

TABLE 9______________________________________Comparison of Turfgrass Quality of Ba 73-366 and OtherKentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Various Locations inthe U.S.A. Locations.sup.(a)Variety A B C D E F G H I Mean______________________________________Ba 73-366 7.7 7.2 5.5 5.3 6.5 5.0 5.2 6.6 6.2 5.5Abbey 7.0 6.9 6.2 5.5 5.4 5.1 3.5 6.8 6.6 5.5Able I 7.7 7.5 5.4 5.9 7.0 5.7 5.9 6.5 5.8 5.8A-34 8.7 6.8 5.2 4.6 7.0 5.4 5.3 6.2 4.8 5.6Banff 8.7 6.6 6.6 6.1 6.8 4.6 5.1 6.7 6.6 6.0Baron 7.7 7.2 6.4 5.7 7.0 5.7 5.3 7.0 6.0 5.8Challenger 8.7 6.6 5.2 4.9 6.7 5.7 5.7 6.6 5.6 5.8Classic 8.3 6.9 5.6 6.2 6.8 4.3 5.6 6.7 5.8 5.8Coventry 8.7 6.3 6.5 5.9 6.7 5.8 5.3 7.0 6.4 5.9Eclipse 8.3 6.7 6.9 6.5 6.2 5.1 5.9 7.3 5.7 5.9Estate 8.7 7.0 6.0 5.5 7.0 6.0 5.7 6.4 5.9 5.9Georgetown 8.0 6.6 6.0 6.6 6.5 4.9 5.7 6.9 6.6 5.9Glade 9.0 7.4 6.8 7.5 7.0 5.6 4.5 7.6 6.9 6.2Gnome 8.0 6.8 5.8 5.0 7.0 5.0 4.8 7.0 4.9 5.5Haga 8.0 6.7 6.4 6.3 7.0 5.1 5.7 6.8 6.3 5.9Kelly 7.7 7.2 6.0 5.8 6.5 5.0 5.2 6.8 5.6 5.5Kenblue 7.7 6.4 4.9 3.3 7.0 3.8 3.2 6.2 5.3 4.6Marquis 8.0 6.8 5.4 5.3 6.7 5.5 4.7 6.5 5.0 5.4Merion 6.7 5.1 3.8 2.7 5.2 4.2 4.8 4.8 4.4 4.2Midnight 8.0 7.1 6.7 8.3 6.7 4.7 5.7 7.7 5.4 6.2Monopoly 7.7 6.5 6.0 5.0 7.3 4.8 5.1 6.1 5.2 5.3Nassau 8.0 6.9 6.0 6.4 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.3 5.9 5.6Ram I 8.0 7.8 5.3 6.0 7.3 5.2 5.2 7.0 7.0 6.1South Dakota 7.0 6.6 4.7 3.0 6.2 2.1 2.7 4.9 4.4 4.1Touchdown 9.0 7.2 5.3 4.2 6.7 3.3 5.1 6.5 6.3 5.5LSD (.05) 1.2 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.1 1.1 0.5 0.5 1.2 0.3______________________________________ Quality Rating Scale 1-9; 9 = ideal turf .sup.(a) Locations: A. Fort Collins, CO; B. Ames, Iowa; C. Post Falls, ID D. Levington, KY; E. Marysville, OH; F. Hubbard, OR; G. Pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, OR; H. Beltsville, MD; I. Pullman, WA TABLE 10______________________________________A Comparison of Genetic Color of Ba 73-366 and Other KentuckyBluegrasses at Various Locations in the U.S.A. Locations.sup.(a)Variety A B C D E F G Mean______________________________________Ba 73-366 4.7 5.7 4.3 4.3 7.0 7.0 5.7 5.5Abbey 4.0 6.2 5.3 4.3 7.0 6.0 6.7 5.6Able I 4.7 7.3 8.0 6.0 7.3 7.0 6.0 6.6A-34 4.0 5.0 3.7 4.3 6.7 6.0 5.3 5.0Banff 5.7 4.7 4.0 5.0 6.7 6.0 4.0 5.1Baron 4.0 6.0 6.0 5.0 7.3 7.3 6.3 6.0Challenger 4.7 6.2 6.0 5.0 7.3 7.0 5.7 6.0Classic 5.3 5.2 4.3 5.0 6.7 5.7 4.3 5.2Coventry 5.3 5.8 5.7 4.3 7.0 6.7 6.3 5.9Eclipse 5.0 7.0 6.3 5.3 7.3 6.3 7.0 6.3Estate 4.7 6.2 5.7 5.3 6.7 6.7 5.7 5.8Georgetown 4.0 5.0 4.7 5.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 5.2Glade 5.3 7.3 7.0 6.0 7.0 7.0 7.3 6.7Gnome 5.3 5.5 5.7 4.7 7.3 7.0 6.7 6.0Haga 4.3 5.0 4.0 5.0 7.0 6.0 4.3 5.1Kelly 4.7 6.2 4.7 4.0 7.0 6.3 6.3 5.6Kenblue 3.7 4.3 3.7 3.7 7.0 6.0 4.0 4.6Marquis 5.0 6.5 5.3 5.0 7.3 7.0 6.7 6.1Merion 4.3 6.7 6.3 4.3 7.0 5.3 6.0 5.7Midnight 6.0 7.7 8.3 6.3 8.0 7.7 6.0 7.1Monopoly 4.7 4.2 4.0 4.0 6.0 6.7 4.0 4.8Nassau 5.7 6.7 5.7 5.0 8.0 6.7 4.7 6.0Ram I 6.0 7.0 7.0 6.0 7.3 7.0 6.7 6.7South Dakota 4.0 5.2 3.0 3.0 7.0 5.3 4.0 4.5Touchdown 4.7 6.3 4.3 4.7 7.3 6.3 5.0 5.5LSD (.05) 1.3 1.3 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.7 1.4 0.5______________________________________ Genetic Color Quality Rating Scale 1-9; 9 = ideal turf .sup.(a) Locations: A. Fort Collins, CO; B. Post Falls, ID; C. North Brunswick, NJ; D. Martinsville, NJ; E. Marysville, OH; F. Pooled data fro Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, OR G. Haymarket, VA; TABLE 11______________________________________Comparison of Winter Color of Ba 73-366 and Other KentuckyBluegrasses Based on Data From Various at Locations in theU.S.A. LocationsVariety A B Mean______________________________________Ba 73-366 3.0 5.7 4.3Abbey 3.3 5.7 4.5Able I 4.0 7.0 5.5A-34 4.0 4.3 4.2Banff 4.0 5.0 4.5Baron 3.7 3.7 3.7Challenger 3.7 6.3 5.0Classic 4.0 5.7 4.8Coventry 2.7 4.3 3.5Eclipse 3.3 5.7 4.5Estate 3.7 5.3 4.5Georgetown 4.7 7.0 5.8Glade 2.7 4.7 3.7Gnome 2.7 4.3 3.5Haga 3.3 5.3 4.3Kelly 3.0 5.3 4.2Kenblue 3.3 2.7 3.0Marquis 3.3 4.0 3.7Merion 2.3 6.3 4.3Midnight 3.3 5.3 4.3Monopoly 3.3 5.0 4.2Nassau 3.0 5.7 4.3Ram I 3.7 6.0 4.8South Dakota 1.7 2.0 1.8Touchdown 3.3 5.3 4.3LSD (.05) 1.0 1.6 0.9______________________________________ Color Rating Scale 1-9; 9 = complete color retention Locations: A. Martinsville, NJ B. Pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, OR Ba 73-366 develops good density and a high degree of living ground cover in the spring and summer. It has a moderately wide blade as identified by leaf texture data. Also Ba 73-366 has good seedling vigor. Data for these performance characteristics are presented in Table 12-15. TABLE 12______________________________________Comparison of Summer Density of Ba 73-366 and otherKentucky Bluegrasses at Various Locations in the U.S.A.LocationsPostFalls Martinsville Marysville KingstonIdaho NJ OH RI Mean______________________________________Ba 73-366 6.7 4.3 6.3 4.0 5.3Abbey 6.0 5.7 6.0 3.0 5.2Able I 7.7 5.0 7.0 4.3 6.0A-34 7.0 4.7 6.0 5.0 5.7Banff 6.7 4.7 6.3 4.0 5.4Baron 6.7 5.3 6.3 4.3 5.7Challen- 7.7 5.7 6.7 4.0 6.0gerClassic 7.0 5.7 6.7 4.7 6.0Coventry 7.0 6.0 6.7 4.0 5.9Eclipse 5.7 6.3 6.3 4.0 5.6Estate 7.0 5.3 7.3 4.7 6.1George- 6.7 5.7 6.3 4.3 5.8townGlade 8.3 4.7 6.7 4.0 5.9Gnome 7.0 5.3 6.3 4.3 5.8Haga 6.7 5.7 6.3 4.3 5.8Kelly 6.7 4.3 6.0 3.3 5.1Kenblue 7.3 3.7 6.0 3.7 5.2Marquis 6.7 5.3 6.3 4.0 5.7Merion 3.3 4.3 4.7 1.7 3.5Midnight 7.7 6.3 6.3 3.7 6.0Monopoly 5.7 4.7 6.7 4.0 5.3Nassau 6.0 5.0 5.7 3.7 5.1Ram I 8.3 5.3 7.0 4.0 6.2South 7.0 2.0 5.7 3.7 4.6DakotaTouch- 8.0 5.3 6.0 3.0 5.6downLSD 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.2 0.7(.05)______________________________________ Density Rating Scale 1-9; 9 = maximum density TABLE 13______________________________________Comparison of Percent Living Ground Cover in theSpring of Ba 73-366 and other Kentucky Bluegrassesat Various Locations in the U.S.A. and Canada Locations Post Falls Carbondale Richmond Idaho Illinois Ont. Mean______________________________________Ba 73-366 78.3 65.0 33.3 58.9Abbey 53.3 51.7 30.0 45.0Able I 81.7 43.3 30.0 51.7A-34 61.7 68.3 33.3 54.4Banff 80.0 76.3 43.3 66.6Baron 45.0 51.0 40.0 45.3Challenger 63.3 56.7 26.7 48.9Classic 60.0 75.0 43.3 59.4Coventry 85.0 43.3 30.0 52.8Eclipse 26.7 31.7 26.7 28.3Estate 61.7 79.7 33.3 58.2Georgetown 76.7 76.0 30.0 60.9Glade 73.3 51.7 40.0 55.0Gnome 66.7 40.0 26.7 44.4Haga 63.3 65.0 33.3 53.9Kelly 65.0 50.7 40.0 51.9Kenblue 73.3 91.0 36.7 67.0Marquis 63.3 44.0 30.0 45.8Merion 5.7 14.0 20.0 13.2Midnight 38.3 20.7 26.7 28.6Monopoly 65.0 90.3 33.3 62.9Nassau 60.0 45.0 30.0 45.0Ram I 71.7 76.7 36.7 61.7South Dakota 71.7 88.7 36.7 65.7Touchdown 56.7 38.3 36.7 43.9LSD (.05) 30.0 41.0 14.4 17.6______________________________________ TABLE 14______________________________________Comparison of Leaf Texture of Ba 73-366 and OtherKentucky Bluegrasses at Martinsville, New JerseyVariety Leaf Texture______________________________________Ba 73-366 4.3Abbey 5.0Able I 5.7A-34 4.3Banff 5.3Baron 5.0Challenger 5.0Classic 5.3Coventry 5.0Eclipse 5.7Estate 4.3Georgetown 6.0Glade 5.0Gnome 5.3Haga 5.7Kelly 4.3Kenblue 6.0Marquis 4.3Merion 4.0Midnight 6.7Monopoly 5.0Nassau 5.0Ram I 5.0South Dakota 3.7Touchdown 5.3LSD (.05) 0.9______________________________________ Leaf Texture Rating Scale 1-9; 9 = very fine TABLE 15______________________________________Comparison of Seedling Vigor of Ba 73-366and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties atVarious Locations in the U.S.A. and Canada.sup.(a) Seedling VigorVariety Mean______________________________________Ba 73-366 6.3Abbey 6.4Able I 6.3A-34 6.0Banff 7.7Baron 6.7Challenger 5.6Classic 7.1Coventry 6.1Eclipse 6.1Estate 6.1Georgetown 7.0Glade 6.7Gnome 6.3Haga 7.1Kelly 6.6Kenblue 7.4Marquis 6.3Merion 2.6Midnight 5.4Monopoly 7.1Nassau 6.4Ram I 6.5South Dakota 6.7Touchdown 5.8LSD (.05) 0.7______________________________________ Vigor Rating Scale 1-9; 9 = maximum vigor .sup.(a) Locations: Fort Collins, CO; Post Falls, ID; North Brunswick, NJ Adelphia, NJ; Richmond Hill, Ontario; Pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard an Gervais, OR.

Turf diseases are one of the major causes of inconsistent and poor turf performance. Ba 73-366 has been found to have a medium to high level of resistance to a serious bluegrass disease known as leaf spot (also known as melting out) caused by Drechslera poae (formerly called Helminthosporium vagans); a medium to high level of resistance to several rust diseases caused by Puccinia spp.; and medium to high level of resistance to dollarspot caused by Sclerotinia homoeocarpa. Comparisons of disease incidence of Ba 73-366 as compared with other bluegrass varieties in regard to leaf spot, rusts, powdery mildew and dollarspot are set forth in Tables 16-21. Additional comparisons are presented in Tables 22-25 identifying good drought tolerance and high seed yields relative to other bluegrasses.

TABLE 16______________________________________Comparison of Leaf Spot Incidence of Ba 73-366 andOther Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties Grown Under ShadeConditions at Marysville, OhioVariety % Leaf Spot______________________________________Ba 73-366 0.0Adelphi 5.0America 40.0Banff 2.5Bristol 0.0Classic 5.0Eclipse 2.5Georgetown 7.5Glade 7.5Kenblue 10.0Merion 0.0Nassau 0.0Newport 0.0Park 50.0Ram I 40.0Sydsport 27.5Vantage 2.5Victa 2.5Mean 9.8LSD (.05) 26.7______________________________________ Leaf Spot Rating = % area covered by disease TABLE 17______________________________________Comparison of Dollar Spot Incidence of Ba 73-366 andOther Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Kingston, R.I.Variety Dollar Spot______________________________________Ba 73-366 8.3Abbey 8.0Able I 8.3A-34 7.7Banff 7.7Baron 7.7Challenger 8.0Classic 8.0Coventry 7.7Eclipse 8.3Estate 8.3Georgetown 8.0Glade 7.7Gnome 8.0Haga 7.7Kelly 8.0Kenblue 8.0Marquis 8.0Merion 7.7Midnight 8.3Monopoly 8.0Nassau 8.0Ram I 7.3South Dakota 8.0Touchdown 8.0LSD (.05) 0.9______________________________________ Dollar Spot Rating 1-9; 9 = no disease TABLE 18______________________________________Comparison of Powdery Mildew Incidence of Ba 73-366and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties Grown UnderShade Conditions at Marysville, Ohio % Powdery MildewVariety Test 1 Test 2______________________________________Ba 73-366 80.0 27.5Adelphi 35.0 37.5Bristol 30.0 17.5Dormie 30.0 27.5Glade 35.0 45.0Merion 75.0 67.5Monopoly 7.5 15.0Nassau 27.5 45.0Park 50.0 35.0Ram I 50.0 42.5Vantage 37.5 10.0Victa 87.5 50.0Wabash 25.0 5.0Mean 48.0 35.6LSD (.05) 43.0 22.0______________________________________ TABLE 19______________________________________Comparison of Stem Rust Incidence of Ba 73-366 andOther Kentucky Bluegrass varieties at Kingston, R.I.Variety Stem Rust______________________________________Ba 73-366 6.7Abbey 7.0Able I 3.3A-34 4.3Banff 7.7Baron 7.0Challenger 4.0Classic 8.0Coventry 6.7Eclipse 4.0Estate 6.3Georgetown 8.7Glade 7.7Gnome 7.0Haga 8.0Kelly 8.0Kenblue 5.7Marquis 6.7Merion 1.0Midnight 8.0Monopoly 6.3Nassau 8.0Ram I 8.0South Dakota 4.3Touchdown 2.3LSD (.05) 1.4______________________________________ Stem Rust Rating 1-9; 9 = no disease TABLE 20______________________________________Comparison of Leaf Rust Incidence of Ba 73-366 andOther Kentucky Bluegrass Varities at Kingston, R.I.Variety Leaf Rust______________________________________Ba 73-366 5.7Abbey 6.3Able I 7.0A-34 6.0Banff 7.0Baron 8.3Challenger 5.7Classic 8.7Coventry 7.0Eclipse 5.7Estate 6.3Georgetown 7.7Glade 7.0Gnome 6.7Haga 7.0Kelly 5.0Kenblue 6.7Marquis 6.3Merion 2.3Midnight 6.0Monopoly 5.3Nassau 7.0Ram I 6.7South Dakota 6.7Touchdown 3.7LSD (.05) 2.4______________________________________ Leaf Rust Rating 1-9; 9 = no disease TABLE 21______________________________________Comparison of Stripe Rust Incidence of Ba 73-366and Other K28 Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties atVarious Locations in OregonVariety Stripe Rust.sup.(a)______________________________________Ba 73-366 5.0Abbey 4.3Able I 6.0A-34 5.0Banff 6.0Baron 6.0Challenger 5.3Classic 6.3Coventry 5.0Eclipse 6.0Estate 5.7Georgetown 6.3Glade 3.0Gnome 4.7Haga 6.3Kelly 5.0Kenblue 3.3Marquis 5.3Merion 3.7Midnight 4.7Monopoly 5.3Nassau 5.3Ram I 6.0South Dakota 4.0Touchdown 3.0LSD (.05) 1.2______________________________________ Stripe Rust Rating 1-9; 9 = no disease .sup.(a) Locations: Pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, Oregon. TABLE 22______________________________________Comparison of Drought Tolerance as Recovery ofBa 73-366 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varietiesat Various Locations in the U.S.A. 1991 CarbondaleVariety Illinois Oregon.sup.(a) Mean______________________________________Ba 73-366 5.0 4.7 4.8Abbey 5.0 4.0 4.5Able I 4.7 4.0 4.3A-34 5.3 1.3 3.3Banff 4.7 2.3 3.5Baron 4.7 6.3 5.5Challenger 5.0 2.0 3.5Classic 4.7 3.7 4.2Coventry 5.7 3.7 4.7Eclipse 5.0 1.7 3.3Estate 4.7 6.3 5.5Georgetown 4.3 2.7 3.5Glade 4.7 3.9 4.2Gnome 4.7 5.0 4.8Haga 5.3 2.7 4.0Kelly 4.7 4.3 4.5Kenblue 4.3 5.3 4.8Marquis 4.0 4.3 4.2Merion 5.3 1.7 3.5Midnight 5.3 3.7 4.5Monopoly 3.0 6.3 4.7Nassau 4.7 5.3 5.0Ram I 5.3 3.3 4.3South Dakota 4.7 2.7 3.7Touchdown 5.0 3.7 4.3LSD (.05) 1.7 1.7 1.2______________________________________ Drought tolerance (recovery) Rating 1-9; 9 = complete recovery .sup.(a) Pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, Oregon. TABLE 23______________________________________Comparison of Seed Yields in Pounds Per Acre fromSolid Row Trials of Ba 73-366 and Other KentuckyBluegrass Varieties at Gervais, Oregon Variety Lbs/Acre______________________________________ Ba 73-366 1382 Bristol 862 Victa 1342 LSD (.05) 216______________________________________ TABLE 24______________________________________Comparison of Seed Yields in Pounds Per Acre forBa 73-366 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties Overa Two Year Period at Gervais, Oregon Lbs./AcreVariety Year 1 Year 2______________________________________Ba 73-366 920 1258Abbey 1124 1314Apart 1244 851Coventry 786 914Garfield 1138 952Newport 1165 1002LSD .05 209 176______________________________________ TABLE 25______________________________________Comparison of Seed Yields in Pounds Per Acre forBa 73-366 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties atLa Grande, Oregon Selection Lbs./Acre______________________________________ Ba 73-366 1,612 Abbey 1,549 Coventry 1,046 LSD .05 160______________________________________

Claims

1. A variety of Kentucky bluegrass, substantially as shown and described, characterized by a medium to high level of resistance to several serious diseases, including leaf spot and melting out disease, several rust diseases and dollar spot; a desirable green color throughout the growing season; good drought recovery capability; a medium to high quality dense presistent turf forming ability under a wide variety of environmental conditions; and a high level of seed yielding capacity.