The effects of ploidy and a phenotype conferring a high water-soluble carbohydrate concentration on carbohydrate accumulation, nutritive value and morphology of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

Abstract

Tetraploidy or the use of diploid genotypes with genes conferring high water-soluble carbohydrate concentrations are two mechanisms to increase the nutritive value of perennial ryegrass. This experiment compared the morphology, nutritive value and diurnal variation in water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentrations of 56-day-old plants from six perennial ryegrass cultivars grown under controlled environment conditions. Three of these cultivars were diploid (Melle, Aurora and Cariad) and three were tetraploids (Meltra, Prospero and AberOnyx) which had been derived from the respective diploid cultivars. Two of the diploid cultivars (Cariad and Aurora) had previously been selected for high conc..