Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass

Abstract

A variety of Kentucky Bluegrass having a high level of resistane to leaf spot and melting out disease; a medium to high level of resistance to several rust diseases and dollar spot; a dark green color throughout the growing season; a good level of drought tolerance; high quality dense persistent turf formation under a wide variety of environmental conditions; and a medium level of seed yielding capacity.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Poa pratensis that has been designated Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass.

2. Description of Related Art

Kentucky bluegrasses have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 3,156, issued May 9, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 3,186, issued May 23, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 4,336, issued Nov. 28, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 6,280, issued Sep. 6, 1988; U.S. Pat. Nos. P.P. 6,538 and 6,538, issued on Jan. 17, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 6,585, issued Feb. 7, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 7,831, issued Mar. 17, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 8,490, issued Dec. 7, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 9,036, issued Jan. 3, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. P.P. 9,209, issued Jul. 18, 1995; and pending U.S. Plant patent applications Ser. No. 08/453,864, filed May 30, 1995, and Ser. No. 08/532,995, filed Sep. 22, 1995.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

Ba 77-279 plant material originated by crossing Ba73-709, an unreleased Kentucky bluegrass plant maintained in the O. M. Scott plant nursery, as the seed parent with a Merion Kentucky bluegrass plant as the pollen parent. As a result of this breeding, a distinct variety was produced and asexually propagated by rhizomes, tillers and disseminules.

Seed of Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass was produced first at Marysville, Ohio and later at Gervais, Oreg. This seed was used to plant turf performance evaluation trials and later seed production fields. Asexual production of Ba 77-279 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 77-279 is approximately 89% based upon examining seedling characeristics of approximately 100 to 150 seedlings from different crop years in a growth chamber.

Ba 77-279 has a number of highly desirable characteristics including a high level of resistance to Drechslera spp. that causes leaf spot, melting out and crown rot; a medium to high level of resistance to Puccinia spp. that causes several types of rust infections and Schlerotinia homoeocarpa that causes dollar spot. Ba 77-279 has an attractive leafy turf growth habit; moderately wide leaf blades and an attractive dark green color which can be maintained throughout the entire growing season. Ba 77-279 demonstrates good drought tolerance and excellent turf performance as evidenced by consistently high scores for quality, color and density. Ba 77-279 has a medium seed yield potential in the bluegrass seed production region of the northwestern U.S.

In comparison with a number of other bluegrass varieties, Ba 77-279 is average for seed size, number of whorls per panicle, vegetative leaf width, and ligule length. Ba 77-279 is below average in panicle length and width, number of florets per spikelet, flag leaf and vegetative leaf length and width, peduncle length and width, culm length and lemma hair content. Ba 77-279 is above average in spikelet width.

In comparison to many other varieties, Ba 77-279 is significantly greater in rachella length, spikelet length, flag leaf ligule length and internode length. Ba 77-279 has significantly less number of branches per whorl in the panicle, number of nodes in the culm and vegetative leaf ligule hair content as compared with other Bluegrass varieties. In comparison to most varieties, Ba 77-279 is significantly greater in outer and inner glume length and flag leaf thickness. Ba 77-279 is much darker green than either of its parents (Ba73-709 and Merion).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass panicle;

FIG. 2 is a Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass seed; and

FIG. 3 is a Ba 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass plant shortly after completing anthesis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

Ba 77-279 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 36.3 cm in length and 3.0 nodes per culm and the uppermost internode averages 12.7 cm in length. The peduncle averages 20.0 cm in length and 0.64 mm in width. The flag leaf averages 4.7 cm in length, 3.5 mm in width and 0.29 mm in thickness and the ligule 1.5 mm in length. The vegetative leaf averages 17.4 cm in length, 3.4 mm in width, 0.345 mm in thickness and a ligule length of 0.22 mm.

The panicle averages 77.1 mm in length, 66.0 mm in width, and 9.2 whorls. The lowest whorl averages 2.3 branches and the third whorl from the button of the panicle average 2.1 branches. A spikelet in the lowest whorl averages 5.4 mm in length, 2.6 mm in width, 3.1 florets and the outer glume and inner glume average 3.7 and 4.1 mm in length, respectively. A spikelet from the third whorl from the bottom of the panicle is 5.3 mm in length, 2.9 mm in width, 3.1 florets, and the outer glume and inner glume averages 3.7 and 4.0 mm in length, respectively.

The conditioned seed of Ba 77-279 averages 2.99 mm in length, 0.85 mm in width, and a rachilla length of 0.82 mm. The seed count for Ba 77-279 averages approximately 1,039,000 seeds per pound.

Comparisions of Ba 77-279 with other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties in terms of seed dimension and seed numbers per pound are shown in Tables 1 and 2 as follows:

TABLE 1______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Seed and Rachilla Measurements andLemma Hair of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties atMarysville, OH After Conditioning SeedVariety Length mm Width mm Rachilla mm Lemma* Hair______________________________________Ba 77-279 2.99 .85 .82 3.4Ba 74-114 3.23 0.89 0.88 4.2Ba 73-366 3.04 0.91 0.80 4.4Ba 73-381 3.00 0.94 0.86 4.9Abbey 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 TABLE 2______________________________________Comparison of Seed Numbers Per Pound of Ba 77-279 and OtherKentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Marysville, OH After ConditioningVariety Seeds Per Pound______________________________________Ba 77-279 1,039,000Ba 74-114 978,000Ba 73-366 1,025,586Ba 73-381 1,171,000Abbey 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 1,227,000Nassau 1,127,130Ram I 1,214,000Touchdown 1,211,000Victa 1,038,298______________________________________

Ba 77-279 differs significantly morphologically from many other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties in regard to the following characteristics: (1) seed length; (2) rachilla length; (3) panicle length; (4) number of branches in the whorl; (5) spikelet length and width; (6) glume length and width; (7) culm length and internode length; (8) flag leaf thickness; and (9) vegetative leaf with and sheath color.

Since environmental conditions such as soil and climate may influence morphological characteristics to some extent, comparisions of morphological characteristics of Ba 77-279 were made with other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties and the comparisons are set forth in the following Tables 3-8:

TABLE 3______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Panicles, Whorl Number and WhorlBranches of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in theGreenhouse at Marysville, OH Number ofPanicles Branches Length Width Whorl Lowest ThirdVariety Nodding* mm mm Number Whorl Whorl______________________________________Ba 77-279 2.4 77.1 66.0 9.2 2.3 2.1Ba 74-114 2.0 88.8 62.0 9.3 2.1 2.1Ba 73-366 1.6 88.8 68.4 8.8 4.3 3.7Ba 73-381 1.1 80.2 55.3 9.8 4.1 3.9Abbey 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 2.1Georgetown 1.0 80.0 57.0 7.4 2.1 2.6Gnome 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 3.2Touchdown 1.1 73.1 75.0 7.6 2.1 2.3Victa 1.7 74.9 58.3 10.0 4.7 3.5LSD (.05) 0.68 7.35 8.62 0.66 0.72 0.50______________________________________ *Rate Scale: 1-9; 9 = most nodding TABLE 4______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Spikelets and Florets of Ba 77-279 andOther Kentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Number Spikelet* of Florets Lowest Whorl Third Whorl Per Spikelet Length Width Length Width Lowest ThirdVariety mm mm mm mm Whorl Whorl______________________________________Ba 77-279 5.4 2.6 5.3 2.9 3.1 3.1Ba 74-114 5.6 3.2 5.6 3.3 4.1 4.1Ba 73-366 4.6 2.5 4.7 2.6 2.6 2.8Ba 73-381 4.7 2.4 4.6 2.6 2.7 2.7Abbey 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______________________________________ *Microscope measurements TABLE 5______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Glumes of Ba 77-279 and Other KentuckyBluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Glume Hairs*Glume Length (mm) Lowest ThirdOuter Inner Whorl Whorl Lowest Third Lowest Third In- In-Variety Whorl Whorl Whorl Whorl Outer ner Outer ner______________________________________Ba 77-279 3.7 3.7 4.1 4.0 2.1 3.0 2.0 2.3Ba 74-114 3.5 3.3 3.9 3.8 2.6 3.2 2.2 2.8Ba 73-366 2.8 2.8 3.2 3.1 1.7 1.3 1.3 2.0Ba 73-381 2.8 2.9 3.2 3.1 1.7 2.3 2.1 2.3Abbey 2.7 2.7 3.1 3.1 0.6 0.9 1.0 1.0Adelphi 2.7 2.6 3.0 3.1 0.6 2.7 1.1 1.9America 2.1 2.1 2.5 2.5 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.3Baron 3.1 3.2 3.6 3.7 4.8 4.4 4.2 4.6Bristol 2.8 3.0 3.3 3.4 1.0 2.2 0.8 2.2Chateau 2.8 2.9 3.1 3.2 1.5 2.6 2.0 1.8Coventry 2.7 2.8 3.1 3.1 1.5 2.7 1.6 2.4Eclipse 3.0 3.0 3.4 3.4 1.5 1.9 1.8 1.9George- 2.8 2.8 3.1 3.1 1.7 2.7 1.2 2.4townGnome 2.8 2.9 3.3 3.3 1.0 1.9 1.2 1.6Kelly 3.0 3.1 3.4 3.5 1.3 1.5 1.1 0.8Marquis 2.8 2.7 3.1 3.1 0.9 1.1 1.7 1.8Midnight 2.6 2.6 3.0 3.1 1.8 2.8 1.0 2.4Nassau 2.6 2.7 2.9 3.0 2.1 2.6 4.2 4.4Ram I 2.9 3.0 3.6 3.5 1.1 2.3 0.7 1.2Touch- 3.3 3.3 3.8 3.8 0.7 2.1 1.1 1.4downVicta 2.8 2.7 3.1 3.1 0.8 1.1 1.1 1.3LSD (.05) 0.23 0.22 0.22 0.23 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9______________________________________ *Rating Scale: 0-9; 9 = many hairs TABLE 6______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Flag Leaves of Ba 77-279 and OtherKentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Length Width Thickness Leaf Leaf LiguleVariety cm mm mm Angle.sup.1/ Curve.sup.2/ mm______________________________________Ba 77-279 4.7 3.5 0.29 2.1 4.5 1.5Ba 74-114 5.3 3.4 0.23 1.4 5.0 1.2Ba 73-366 4.5 3.6 0.18 5.1 4.4 1.5Ba 73-381 4.3 3.5 0.22 1.9 5.0 1.3Abbey 3.8 3.4 0.14 2.7 4.1 1.3Adelphi 5.7 3.4 0.18 5.2 5.0 1.1America 4.3 2.6 0.21 4.6 5.0 0.6Baron 7.0 4.2 0.15 9.2 4.4 1.2Bristol 4.3 3.2 0.21 2.3 5.0 0.6Chateau 4.0 2.7 0.19 3.4 2.0 0.9Coventry 3.7 3.0 0.14 0.7 4.3 0.9Eclipse 3.9 3.2 0.19 8.7 5.0 1.1Georgetown 5.7 2.8 0.22 1.9 5.0 0.6Gnome 4.5 3.5 0.18 4.3 5.0 0.8Kelly 4.8 4.1 0.18 3.1 4.4 1.5Marquis 5.5 3.6 0.24 2.7 4.6 0.8Midnight 3.8 2.6 0.19 1.1 5.0 0.4Nassau 6.0 3.7 0.19 5.9 4.7 1.1Ram I 3.4 3.1 0.19 1.0 4.8 0.7Touchdown 4.1 2.7 0.16 3.4 4.1 1.1Victa 3.9 3.7 0.27 2.1 4.6 1.3LSD (.05) 1.0 0.42 0.025 2.50 0.40 0.17______________________________________ Hairs.sup.3/ Leaf Sheath Variety Margin Ligule Color.sup.4/______________________________________ Ba 77-279 0.6 0.7 0.9 Ba 74-114 0.5 2.1 1.8 Ba 73-366 0.4 2.2 0.5 Ba 73-381 0.4 3.6 1.5 Abbey 0.8 1.6 0.2 Adelphi 1.8 1.6 0.4 America 0.4 0.7 1.9 Baron 1.0 3.8 2.6 Bristol 0.4 1.9 2.0 Chateau 1.1 3.1 0.3 Coventry 0.8 1.7 2.0 Eclipse 1.0 1.0 0.2 Georgetown 0.6 2.0 2.0 Gnome 0.9 3.2 1.5 Kelly 1.1 2.5 2.2 Marquis 0.5 3.8 1.5 Midnight 0.4 0.3 2.0 Nassau 2.6 2.4 0.8 Ram I 0.5 1.3 2.0 Touchdown 1.0 1.0 7.7 Victa 1.0 0.8 0.5 LSD (.05) 0.47 0.70 0.76______________________________________ .sup.1/ Degrees from the stem .sup.2/ Rating Scale: 1-9; 1 = curves up; 5 = no curve; 9 = curves down .sup.3/ Rating Scale: 0-9; 0 = none; 9 = many .sup.4/ Rating Scale: 0-9; 0 = no color; 9 = dark purple TABLE 7______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Peduncles, Culms, Node Numbers PerCulm and Internode Length of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky BluegrassVarieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Culm Top Peduncle Peduncle Length Nodes InternodeVariety Length cm Width mm cm Per Culm Length cm______________________________________Ba 77-279 20.0 0.64 36.3 3.0 12.7Ba 74-114 24.7 0.71 44.9 3.7 13.4Ba 73-366 26.4 0.70 42.7 4.1 9.2Ba 73-381 24.3 0.81 39.5 3.1 10.8Abbey 23.2 0.65 41.3 4.1 11.0Adelphi 24.5 0.66 40.0 4.0 10.4America 16.2 0.62 31.8 3.1 11.0Baron 34.0 0.70 52.8 4.2 12.8Bristol 22.9 0.73 43.5 4.0 12.6Chateau 20.7 0.61 38.9 4.4 9.9Coventry 19.6 0.49 34.7 4.5 7.9Eclipse 23.7 0.66 39.2 4.9 9.9Georgetown 21.7 0.68 37.5 3.2 11.1Gnome 19.4 0.84 35.3 3.1 9.2Kelly 29.4 0.75 46.6 3.6 11.8Marquis 27.1 0.83 34.1 3.4 7.8Midnight 20.5 0.72 29.5 2.8 7.6Nassau 25.0 0.66 36.0 3.9 7.4Ram I 22.2 0.69 30.5 2.5 6.6Touchdown 23.6 0.52 38.0 4.0 8.4Victa 21.2 0.81 37.9 3.7 10.3LSD (.05) 3.17 0.077 3.32 0.44 1.94______________________________________ TABLE 8______________________________________Morphological Comparison of Vegetative Leaves of Ba 77-279 and OtherKentucky Bluegrass Varieties in the Greenhouse at Marysville, OH Thickness LeafVariety Length cm Width mm mm Angle.sup.1/ Curve.sup.2/______________________________________Ba 77-279 17.4 3.4 0.34 67.9 5.5Ba 74-114 18.9 4.5 0.36 50.9 5.0Ba 73-366 22.9 3.8 0.40 53.0 7.1Ba 73-381 22.1 3.3 0.30 62.5 8.2Abbey 20.7 3.6 0.28 51.3 7.4Adelphi 19.4 3.7 0.28 67.0 4.6America 21.4 3.1 0.32 66.0 6.4Baron 18.2 4.3 0.29 35.0 4.4Bristol 18.2 3.7 0.32 65.5 6.9Chateau 23.1 3.3 0.33 39.7 5.4Coventry 23.4 3.6 0.25 63.0 7.3Eclipse 20.3 4.4 0.30 65.5 5.4Georgetown 19.5 3.6 0.29 56.7 5.8Gnome 18.2 2.9 0.29 43.2 6.6Kelly 22.8 3.9 0.30 55.5 7.0Marquis 19.7 3.7 0.38 46.4 7.8Midnight 19.5 3.5 0.31 63.3 5.0Nassau 16.3 3.7 0.29 63.2 4.9Ram I 19.1 3.6 0.27 70.8 6.5Touchdown 16.7 3.7 0.24 51.3 4.0Victa 21.5 3.6 0.36 56.3 6.7LSD (.05) 3.50 0.43 0.044 15.90 1.54______________________________________ Hairs.sup.3/ Ligule Leaf Leaf Sheath SheathVariety Length mm Ligule Margin Roughness.sup.4/ Color.sup.5/______________________________________Ba 77-279 0.22 1.5 2.0 8.8 0.2Ba 74-114 0.14 3.3 2.6 8.7 2.0Ba 73-366 0.23 5.2 4.2 8.5 0.0Ba 73-381 0.16 3.2 0.7 8.2 2.0Abbey 0.32 4.4 2.8 7.7 0.0Adelphi 0.34 2.6 3.4 8.8 0.0America 0.12 1.7 2.1 8.4 2.0Baron 0.33 4.6 3.6 7.4 0.4Bristol 0.12 2.6 3.0 8.9 2.0Chateau 0.22 3.3 3.1 7.8 0.5Coventry 0.32 3.1 2.4 8.1 0.3Eclipse 0.38 2.8 2.6 9.0 0.2Georgetown 0.14 2.5 2.4 8.5 2.0Gnome 0.23 1.6 0.8 7.5 1.4Kelly 0.34 4.6 2.4 8.8 0.0Marquis 0.21 3.6 1.1 6.8 1.1Midnight 0.10 1.3 1.6 7.7 2.0Nassau 0.34 2.5 3.3 8.5 1.4Ram I 0.09 1.8 2.0 7.7 2.0Touchdown 0.29 1.4 1.3 7.9 8.0Victa 0.26 2.3 1.7 7.9 0.1LSD (.05) 0.045 0.79 0.70 0.89 0.57______________________________________ .sup.1/ Degrees from the stem .sup.2/ Rating Scale: 1-9; 1 = curves up; 5 = no curve; 9 = curves down .sup.3/ Rating Scale: 0-9; 0 = none; 9 = many .sup.4/ Rating Scale: 1-9; 1 = rough; 9 = smooth .sup.5/ Rating Scale: 0-9; 0 = no color; 9 = dark purple color

Ba 77-279 has been an outstanding performer as exhibited by high turf quality ratings and dark green color at a number of locations across the U.S. in comparison to other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties. With regard to a comparataive analysis conducted for purposes of determining color of Ba 77-279 plants relative to other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties, readings were taken of the vegetative color of Ba 77-279 during mid-May while the turf was actively growing with adequate nutrient and water availability. The readings 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 77-279 was determined to be 7.5 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 74-114 -- 7.5 GY 4/4; Ba 73-381 -- 5 GY 4/4; Ba 73-366 -- 5 GY 4/4; Ba 73-540 -- 5 GY 4/4; Abbey -- 5 GY 3/4; and Coventry -- 5 GY 4/4. However, it should be noted that the general apparent color of turf does not always correlate directly with the color of the individual actively growing leaves within the turf and that turf color varies with nutrient level and time of year with some varieties being darker or lighter green depending on such factors.

Ba 77-279 demonstrates a dark green color which can be maintained throughout the growing season. It also has a medium wide leaf, good density and seedling vigor. Comparisons of Ba 77-279 with other Kentucky bluegrass varieties for quality, color, density and seedling vigor are set forth hereinafter in Tables

TABLE 9______________________________________A Comparison of Quality of Ba 77-279 and Other Kentucky BluegrassVarieties In Three Tests Conducted at Nineteen (19) Locations in theU.S. in Three Tests Conducted. Test (Annual Means)Variety A B C______________________________________Ba 77-279 6.1 6.4 5.9Ba 73-366 5.5 5.5 5.3Ba 73-381 5.4 5.6 5.3Ba 74-114 5.3 5.6 5.1Abbey 5.5 5.5 5.3Able I 5.8 6.1 5.9A-34 5.6 5.7 5.5Banff 6.0 5.9 5.4Baron 5.8 5.7 5.3Classic 5.8 5.9 5.4Coventry 5.9 6.0 5.7Eclipse 5.9 6.2 6.0Estate 5.9 5.9 5.6Georgetown 5.9 5.9 5.4Glade 6.2 6.0 5.6Gnome 5.5 5.5 5.3Haga 5.9 5.8 5.5Kelly 5.5 5.4 5.2Kenblue 4.6 4.5 4.3Marquis 5.4 5.5 5.4Merion 4.2 4.8 4.9Merit 5.4 5.5 5.3Midnight 6.2 6.4 6.3Monopoly 5.3 5.5 5.3Nassau 5.6 5.8 5.2Ram I 6.1 5.9 5.4South Dakota 4.1 4.2 4.2Touchdown 5.5 5.9 5.5LSD (.05) 0.3 0.2 0.2______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = ideal turf TABLE 10______________________________________A Comparison of Genetic Color of Ba 77-279 and Other KentuckyBluegrass Varieties in Three Tests (A-C) Conducted at Ten (10)Locations in the US TESTS (Annual Means)Variety A B C______________________________________Ba 77-279 6.9 6.8 7.2Ba 74-114 7.0 7.2 7.2Ba 73-366 5.5 5.5 5.9Ba 73-381 6.0 5.7 6.4Abbey 5.6 5.9 5.8Able I 6.6 6.8 6.8A-34 5.0 5.4 4.6Banff 5.1 6.0 5.5Baron 6.0 6.0 5.9Classic 5.2 5.9 5.2Coventry 5.9 5.6 5.8Eclipse 6.3 6.6 6.4Estate 5.8 5.3 5.3Georgetown 5.2 6.1 5.3Glade 6.7 6.3 6.7Gnome 6.0 6.1 5.8Haga 5.1 5.8 5.3Kelly 5.6 5.7 6.1Kenblue 4.6 5.0 5.3Marquis 6.1 6.1 6.4Merion 5.7 5.8 5.4Merit 5.7 5.7 6.2Midnight 7.1 7.3 7.7Monopoly 4.8 4.9 4.8Nassau 6.0 6.6 6.5Ram I 6.7 5.9 6.6South Dakota 4.5 4.8 4.7Touchdown 5.5 5.5 5.3LSD (.05) 0.5 0.4 0.7______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = dark green. TABLE 11______________________________________A Comparison of Fall Density of Ba 77-279 and Other KentuckyBluegrass Varieties at Martinsville, New JerseyVariety Fall Density______________________________________Ba 77-279 7.0Ba 73-366 5.3Ba 73-381 5.3Ba 74-114 5.7Abbey 4.7Able I 4.7A-34 5.7Banff 6.3Baron 5.7Classic 6.3Coventry 6.0Eclipse 5.3Estate 5.0Georgetown 6.7Glade 5.7Gnome 6.0Haga 6.7Kelly 5.0Kenblue 5.0Marquis 5.7Merion 3.7Merit 5.3Midnight 7.3Monopoly 5.0Nassau 5.3Ram I 6.7South Dakota 3.0Touchdown 5.7LSD (.05) 1.4______________________________________ Ratings Scale: 1-9; 9 = maximum density TABLE 12______________________________________A Comparison of Leaf Texture of Ba 77-279 and Other KentuckyBluegrass Varieties at Martinsville, NJ.Variety Leaf Texture______________________________________BA 77-279 5.3Ba 74-114 4.0Ba 73-366 4.3Ba 73-381 4.0Abbey 5.0Able I 5.7A-34 4.3Banff 5.3Baron 5.0Classic 5.3Coventry 5.0Eclipse 5.7Estate 4.3Georgetown 6.0Glade 5.0Gnome 5.3Haga 5.7Kelly 4.3Kenblue 6.0Marquis 4.3Merion 4.0Merit 4.7Midnight 6.7Monopoly 5.0Nassau 5.0Ram I 5.0South Dakota 3.7Touchdown 5.3LSD (.05) 0.9______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = very fine TABLE 13______________________________________A Comparison of Seedling Vigor of Ba 77-279 and Other KentuckyBluegrass Varieties at Six Locations in the the U.S. and Canada*Variety Seedling Vigor Mean______________________________________Ba 77-279 6.2Ba 73-366 6.3Ba 73-381 6.3Ba 74-114 5.3Abbey 6.4Able I 6.3A-34 6.0Banff 7.7Baron 6.7Classic 7.1Coventry 6.1Eclipse 6.1Estate 6.1Georgetown 7.0Glade 6.7Gnome 6.3Haga 7.1Kelly 6.6Kenblue 7.4Marquis 6.3Merion 2.6Merit 6.4Midnight 5.4Monopoly 7.1Nassau 6.4Ram I 6.5South Dakota 6.7Touchdown 5.8LSD (.05) 0.7______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = Maximum vigor Locations: Fort Collins, CO; Post Falls, ID; North Brunswick, NJ; Adelphi NJ; Richmond Hill, Ontario; pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, OR.

Turf diseases are one of the major causes of inconsistent and poor turf performance. Ba 77-279 has been found to have a high level of resistance to leaf spot and melting out caused by Drechslera poae (formerly called Helminthosporium vagans). Ba 77-279 furthermore has been found to have a medium to high level of resistance to dollar spot caused by Sclerotinia homoecarpa and to several rust diseases caused by Puccinia spp.

Comparisons of disease incidence of Ba 77-279 as compared with other Kentucky Bluegrass varieties in regard to leaf spot, dollar spot, and rusts, are presented in Tables 14-18.

TABLE 14______________________________________A Comparison of Leaf Spot Incidence in Ba 77-279 and Other KentuckyBluegrass Varieties in Two (2) Tests Conducted at Seven (7) Locationsin the U.S. MeansVariety Test 1* Test 2**______________________________________Ba 77-279 6.0 7.4Ba 73-366 4.3 5.1Ba 73-381 2.0 5.8Ba 74-114 4.7 6.8Abbey 4.7 5.1Able I 6.0 7.1A-34 4.7 5.4Banff 4.7 5.9Baron 4.0 5.4Classic 3.3 5.4Coventry 3.7 5.8Eclipse 6.3 7.4Estate 4.0 5.9Georgetown 6.0 6.3Glade 3.0 4.8Gnome 3.7 5.7Haga 3.7 5.9Kelly 4.7 5.1Kenblue 1.7 1.8Marquis 3.7 5.6Merion 7.3 7.3Merit 4.3 5.4Midnight 5.7 6.6Monopoly 4.3 5.2Nassau 4.3 6.2Ram I 4.3 4.9South Dakota 1.0 1.8Touchdown 5.3 6.3LSD (.05) 1.5 0.7______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease *Locations: Pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, OR. **Locations: Post Falls, ID; North Brunswick and Adelphia, NJ; Marysville OH LSD TABLE 15______________________________________A Comparison of Dollar Spot Disease Incidence of Ba 77-279 and OtherKentucky Bluegrass Varieties in Three (3) Tests Conducted at Five (5)Locations in the U.S. MeansVariety Test A.sup.1 Test B.sup.2 Test C.sup.3______________________________________Ba 77-279 8.3 7.8 7.0Ba 73-366 8.3 7.1 6.2Ba 73-381 7.3 6.6 6.4Ba 74-114 8.3 7.9 4.8Abbey 8.0 6.8 6.3Able I 8.3 6.8 6.1A-34 7.7 6.7 6.0Banff 7.7 6.4 6.2Baron 7.7 6.9 6.8Classic 8.0 7.4 6.3Coventry 7.7 5.9 5.9Eclipse 8.3 7.5 7.2Estate 8.3 5.3 5.6Georgetown 8.0 6.9 6.1Glade 7.7 7.0 6.4Gnome 8.0 6.7 6.1Haga 7.7 6.3 6.2Kelly 8.0 7.3 6.3Kenblue 8.0 6.8 6.8Marquis 8.0 6.8 6.7Merion 7.7 6.9 6.1Merit 8.0 6.8 6.7Midnight 8.3 8.0 6.6Monopoly 8.0 7.1 6.7Nassau 8.0 7.4 6.7Ram I 7.3 6.0 4.9South Dakota 8.0 7.3 5.8Touchdown 8.0 6.8 6.1LSD (.05) 0.9 1.1 0.8______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease .sup.1 Locations: Kingston, RI .sup.2 Locations: Urbana, IL; Adelphia, NJ; Kingston, RI; Haymarket, VA .sup.3 Locations: Urbana, IL; Silver Spring, MD; Kingston, RI TABLE 16______________________________________A Comparison of Stem Rust Disease Incidence in Ba 77-279 and OtherKentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Kingston, R.I.Variety Stem Rust______________________________________Ba 77-279 7.3Ba 73-366 6.7Ba 73-381 7.3Ba 74-114 5.7Abbey 7.0Able I 3.3A-34 4.3Banff 7.7Baron 7.0Classic 8.0Coventry 6.7Eclipse 4.0Estate 6.3Georgetown 8.7Glade 7.7Gnome 7.0Haga 8.0Kelly 8.0Kenblue 5.7Marquis 6.7Merion 1.0Merit 6.3Midnight 8.0Monopoly 6.3Nassau 8.0Ram I 8.0South Dakota 4.3Touchdown 2.3LSD (.05) 1.4______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease TABLE 17______________________________________A Comparison of Leaf Rust Disease Incidence in Ba 77-279 and OtherKentucky Bluegrass Varieties at Kingston, R.I.Variety Leaf Rust______________________________________Ba 77-279 6.0Ba 74-114 6.7Ba 73-366 5.7Ba 73-381 6.3Abbey 6.3Able I 7.0A-34 6.0Banff 7.0Baron 8.3Classic 8.7Coventry 7.0Eclipse 5.7Estate 6.3Georgetown 7.7Glade 7.0Gnome 6.7Haga 7.0Kelly 5.0Kenblue 6.7Marquis 6.3Merion 2.3Merit 6.0Midnight 6.0Monopoly 5.3Nassau 7.0Ram I 6.7South Dakota 6.7Touchdown 3.7LSD (.05) 2.4______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease TABLE 18______________________________________A Comparison of Stripe Rust Disease Incidence in Ba 77-279 and OtherKentucky Bluegrass Varieties in Tests Conducted at Three Locations.sup.1/inOregonVariety Stripe Rust______________________________________Ba 77-279 6.0Ba 74-114 6.7Ba 73-366 5.0Ba 73-381 4.7Abbey 4.3Able I 6.0A-34 5.0Banff 6.0Baron 6.0Classic 6.3Coventry 5.0Eclipse 6.0Estate 5.7Georgetown 6.3Glade 3.0Gnome 4.7Haga 6.3Kelly 5.0Kenblue 3.3Marquis 5.3Merion 3.7Merit 5.0Midnight 4.7Monopoly 5.3Nassau 5.3Ram I 6.0South Dakota 4.0Touchdown 3.0LSD (.05) 1.2______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no disease .sup.1/ Pooled data from Halsey, Hubbard and Gervais, Oregon.

Ba 77-279 has shown good drought tolerance and has a medium seed yielding capability. Comparisons for drought tolerance and seed yields of Ba 77-279 with other Kentucky Bluegrass are presented in Table 19-20.

TABLE 19______________________________________A Comparison of Drought Tolerance of Ba 77-279 and Other KentuckyBluegrass Varieties at Carbondale, IL.Variety Drought Tolerance______________________________________Ba 77-279 5.0Ba 73-366 3.0Ba 73-381 2.0Ba 74-114 3.0Abbey 3.7Able I 4.0A-34 4.0Banff 4.7Baron 3.0Classic 3.7Coventry 4.3Eclipse 4.0Estate 4.7Georgetown 4.0Glade 3.7Gnome 3.3Haga 4.0Kelly 2.7Kenblue 2.7Marquis 3.3Merion 3.7Merit 2.7Midnight 4.3Monopoly 2.7Nassau 3.3Ram I 4.7South Dakota 2.7Touchdown 4.7LSD (.05) 1.6______________________________________ Rating Scale: 1-9; 9 = no dormancy TABLE 20______________________________________A Comparison of Seed Yield in Pounds Per Acre of Ba 77-279 andCoventry Kentucky Bluegrass In Two (2) Tests Conducted at Gervais,Oregon. Test A Test B______________________________________Ba 77-279 672 382Coventry 568 425LSD (.05) 162 97______________________________________

Claims

1. A variety of Kentucky Bluegrass plant, substantially as shown and described, characterized by a high level of resistance to leaf spot and melting out disease; a medium to high level of resistance to several rust diseases and dollar spot; a dark green color throughout the growing season; a good level of drought tolerance; high quality dense persistent turf formation under a wide variety of environmental conditions; and a medium level of seed yielding capacity.