70 Years of Turfgrass Improvementat the New Jersey AgriculturalExperiment StationThe Garden State's Rutgers University has longbeen in the forefront of turfgrass development.

by C. REED FUNK and WILLIAM A. MEYER

committee recognized that more turf-grass, including home lawns, golfcourses, sports fields, parks, institu-tional grounds, and road berms, existedwithin 100 miles of Rutgers than per-haps any other agricultural researchinstitution in the world. They wereaware that our major cool-season turf-grass species were introduced fromhigher latitude, maritime climates ofthe British Isles and northwest Europe.These grasses were not well adaptedto the hot, humid summers, relativelycold winters, diseases, and insect pestsof the mid-Atlantic and transitionzones of the USA. This presented a realchallenge to turfgrass managers but agreat opportunity for genetic improve-ment. The administration of what isnow Cook College agreed, and theturfgrass breeding position was offeredin December 1961 to Reed Funk, a newPh.D. with experience in breeding forsalt tolerance at Utah State, alfalfa atIowa State, and com at Rutgers. Itshould be recognized that most turf-grass scientists at that time had receivedtheir graduate education in fields otherthan turfgrass. The startup funding andfirst year's budget was $400 and part-time use of a university car for germ-plasm collection. Fortunately, Dr. RalphEngel provided additional support inturf maintenance. Drs. Engel, Indyk,and Felix Juska at the USDA, agrono-mists at the United States Golf Associ-ation Green Section, and seed growersin Oregon, Washington, and Idaho pro-vided much needed and very usefuladvice and suggestions.

The turfgrass germplasm collectionprogram started in 1962 has continuedto the present with thousands ofhours spent by turfgrass professionalsexamining tens of thousands of hec-tares of old turfs and heavily grazedpastures for elite turfgrass germplasm.Many single plants of Kentuck blue-grass, creeping bentgrass, dryland bent-

Virginia. This resulted in the develop-ment of many vegetatively propagatedcreeping bentgrasses, 'Merion' Kentuckybluegrass, and 'Meyer' zoysiagrass.These productive programs were inter-rupted by the building of the Pentagonon the Arlington research facilityproperty in 1942 and loss of keypersonnel to military service or criticaljobs in support of the war effort.

Turfgrass extension, teaching, andresearch were re-established at Rutgersfollowing the Second World War underthe able and energetic leadership ofDr. Ralph Engel and later strengthenedby the addition of Dr. Richard Skogley.Dr. Henry Indyk became ExtensionSpecialist in Turfgrass when Dr.Skogley left to lead the TurfgrassProgram at the University of RhodeIsland. Each was convinced that sig-nificant opportunities existed in thedevelopment of improved turfgrasses.They and their turfgrass advisory

Rutgers University has a long lineage of researcherswho have achieved prominent success. Five USGAGreen Section Award winners have connections to

the Rutgers program (clockwise from top):Dr. Glenn Burton (1965), Dr. Ralph Engel (1993),Dr. Reed Funk (1980), Dr. Richard Skogley (1992),

and Dr. Howard Sprague (1974).

TIE genetic improvement of turf-grass was initiated at RutgersUniversity by H. B. Sprague prior

to the Second World War. Dr. HowardB. Sprague, the world-renowned agron-omist at Rutgers, included turfgrassscience as one of many areas of accom-plishment and activity. He recruitedGlenn Burton as a Ph.D. student toassist during the mid-1930s. Dr.Sprague believed that velvet bentgrassoffered great potential for turfgrassimprovement. It required little or noadded fertilizer to produce a fine,dense, very attractive turf in shade orfull sun, and at high or low mowing. Hedeveloped 'Raritan' velvet bentgrass,released in 1940. Turfgrass enthusiasts,including leading golf course superin-tendents, also cooperated with researchpersonnel of the United States GolfAssociation and the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture at theArlington Turf Gardens in northern

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2001 19

grass, strong creeping red fescue, zoysia-grass, bermudagrass, and one cloneof centipedegrass had persisted andspread to produce patches of turf asmuch as 25 meters in diameter. Singleplants of perennial ryegrass, colonialbentgrass, velvet bentgrass, hard fescue,blue fescue, and Chewings fescue occa-sionally ranged from 1 meter to 4meters in diameter. These rare plantscame from the billions of seeds plantedover past decades and contained genesfor adaptation to their various environ-ments. A unique, highly apomicticplant of Kentucky bluegrass has thepossibility of being released as a newcultivar with most of its seeds produc-ing plants genetically identical to themother plant. Elite selections of creep-ing bentgrass, zoysiagrass, or bermuda-grass can be propagated vegetatively toproduce a new cultivar. However, plantsof sexual, cross-pollinated species,including perennial ryegrass, tall fescue,fine fescues, rough bluegrass, and seed-propagated bentgrasses, zoysiagrasses,and bermudagrasses must be inter-crossed with many other elite plantsof their species to produce a usefulcultivar. Normally, they must also besubjected to many years of populationimprovement to make them superior toturfgrasses already on the market.

Starting in 1962, a number of attrac-tive plants of perennial ryegrass werefound in old turfs near the sheepmeadow in Central Park in New YorkCity. Other interesting plants werefound in Warinaco Park, Elizabeth,N.J.; Paterson Park and Riverside Parkin Baltimore, Md.; the Colonia andAtlantic City golf courses; and thecampus lawn of the University of Mary-land, College Park, Md. Evaluation ofselected plants in mowed clonal tests,spaced-plant nurseries, and diseasescreening tests and subsequently assingle-plant progenies in closelymowed turf trials showed that the

20 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD

plants thriving in Central Park, NewYork City,had considerable promise. Asynthetic of the 16 best performingplants was sent to other locations fortesting.

It was soon apparent that 'Man-hattan' had outstanding qualities com-pared to perennial ryegrasses in com-mercial use at that time and should bereleased. This required a decision by theNew Jersey Agricultural ExperimentStation as to the most appropriatemethod of making high quality seed ofnew turfgrass cultivars available to thepublic. After considerable discussionwith leaders in the turfgrass industry,plant breeders at Rutgers and otheruniversities, administrators, officials atthe New Jersey Department of Agricul-ture, and seed certification personnel inNew Jersey, Oregon, and Washington,we drafted a proposed release policy. Apublic meeting of interested partieswas held on the turf trials at Rutgers,followed by indoor discussion. A num-ber of useful comments and suggestionswere made and incorporated, followedby a general agreement of the need forand advantages of restricted release.This would make it feasible for one ormore commercial seed companies orgroups of seed growers to invest theirtime, resources, and efforts in highquality seed increase by financinggrower contracts with the most quali-fied farmers for seed production, main-taining seed inventories, promotion,and distribution throughout New Jersey,the USA, Canada, and, if appropriate,overseas. Rutgers would concentrateon research involving more effectivebreeding and evaluation techniques,germplasm collection and enhance-ment, and cultivar development.

With additional support from theUnited States Golf Association and aslowly increasing royalty stream, turf-grass breeding was gradually expanded.The New Jersey Agricultural Experi-

The Rutgers turfgrassgermplasm collectionprogram started in1962. Over time, tensof thousands of sampleshave been collected toinclude in the evaluationprogram. Biotechnologyoffers a new avenue forspeeding up theimprovement ofturfgrass varieties.

ment Station also provided a technicianin 1967.After Bill Siebels left, WilliamK. Dickson accepted this position inSeptember 1968. Ronald EBara waspromoted to this position in October1986, when Bill Dickson became FarmSupervisor at Horticultural Farm II.

We were all delighted to have Dr.William A. Meyer take over directionof turfgrass breeding in April 1996. Hegave the program new energy, leader-ship, enthusiasm, and abilities. He hasbrought it to a new level of productivityand stature.

The labor supporting the RutgersTurfgrass Breeding Program was pro-vided by many individuals too numer-ous to name. More than 150 techni-cians, graduate students, administrativeassistants, Rutgers faculty, and studentemployees have made countless con-tributions to the overall success of theprogram.

The effects of fungal endophytes inenhancing turfgrass performance andresistance to many harmful insects be-came apparent in the Rutgers Univer-sity turfgrass field trials followingresearch by Drs. Charles Bacon inGeorgia and Ron Prestidge and associ-ates in New Zealand. Scientists atRutgers led and/or participated instudies that found that endophyticfungi are associated with many in-stances of enhanced turfgrass perfor-mance of perennial ryegrasses, tallfescues, Chewings fescues, hard fescues,blue fescues, and strong creeping redfescues. They showed an associationbetween the presence of endophyticfungi and enhanced resistance to sodwebworms, chinch bugs, and billbugs;improved summer performance andfall recovery; and resistance to crab-grass invasion in tall fescue and peren-nial ryegrass. They found that endo-phytic fungi were associated withresistance to chinch bugs and dollarspot disease in many species of finefescues. They subsequently developedmany useful perennial ryegrasses andfescues with endophyte-enhancedperformance.

In order to continue Rutgers' leader-ship in endophyte research, Drs. FaithBelanger, James White, Qin Yue, CecilStill, Thomas Gianfagna, MichaelRichardson, and John Sacalis werehired or encouraged to do basic studieson endophyte biology and turfgrass-endophyte interactions. Assisted by anumber of very capable graduatestudents and post-doctoral researchscientists, these faculty members havemade and continue to make many

outstanding discoveries and contribu-tions. Rutgers has the best and mostproductive program in the world onendophyte research in relation to turf-grass improvement.

BentgrassesMany golf courses and other fine turf

areas developed during the late 1800sand the first few decades of the 1900swere seeded with fine fescues andSouth German mixed bentgrass. Thelatter was harvested from roadsides andnon-tilled farmlands in central Europeand included varying percentages ofcolonial, creeping, dryland, and velvetbentgrasses. Recent collections fromthat region show that these bentgrasseswere poorly adapted to New Jersey andother regions with hot, humid sum-mers. It is apparent that only a few ofthe best plants survived to producelarge patches of turf. The most attrac-tive of the creeping bentgrasses wereselected and evaluated by the USGAGreen Section and USDA scientists andbecame the vegetatively propagatedcultivars and much of the foundation ofcurrent breeding programs. Dr. RalphEngel, with the assistance of AlexanderRadko of the USGA Green Section,collected many promising creepingbentgrasses and established a largereplicated test at Rutgers in October1962. By this time, 'Penncross,' a three-clone sYnthetic developed at PennState, was becoming widely accepted,reducing the need for vegetativelypropagated bentgrasses. With financialsupport from Golf Course Superinten-dents Associations in New Jersey, LongIsland, and the New York City metro-politan area, Professor Engel continuedhis lifelong interest in fine turf and hiscollection and evaluation program.USGA Green Section agronomistsassisted in these germplasm collections,and their financial support helpedprovide assistantships for Phil Catron,Richard Rathjens, and Charles Kupat.

Members of theRutgers faculty sharetheir expertise atannual field daysheld at the two mainresearch farms.Turfgrasspractitioners from alldisciplines of theindustry gather tolearn about the latestresearch progress.

The cultivars 'Cobra' (Engel et al.,1994) and 'Viper' were developed fromthis program in cooperation withInternational Seeds, Inc. (now CebecoInternational Seeds). As Dr. Engelwas nearing retirement, Drs. RichardHurley and Reed Funk initiated anew bentgrass improvement programdirected primarily at cultivars useful onputting greens. They selected morethan 1,000 creeping bentgrass plantsfrom dozens of old golf courses inNew Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,California, and Arizona between 1981and 1985. After clonal evaluation inNew Jersey and Oregon, 203 plantswere selected to produce 'Southshore'(Hurley et al., 1990) released in 1992.'Lofts L-93' was also developed fromthis program after extensive testing andpopulation improvement.

The opportunity to substantially in-crease the bentgrass breeding programat Rutgers was one of the primary in-centives used to attract Dr. William A.Meyer to New Jersey. He is assisted byDr. Karen Plumley, Dr. James Murphy,Pieter den Haan, Stacy Bonos, RonaldBara, William Dickson, and Dirk Smith.Bridget Meyer, Anita Szersen, andGengyun Zhang also have assisted ingermplasm collection. They are mak-ing excellent progress in the geneticimprovement of velvet, creeping, andcolonial bentgrass. Dr. Meyer and histeam are also working with and assist-ing Drs. Faith Belanger, BarbaraZilinskas, and Tseh An Chen in theirdevelopment of transgenic bentgrasseswith herbicide resistance, stress toler-ance, and disease resistance. The futureis indeed bright for bentgrass breeding.

Turf -lYPe Perennial Ryegrasses

'Manhattan' (Funk et al., 1969) wasreleased in 1967 and proved to be alandmark cUltivar that significantlyenhanced the usefulness of perennialryegrass for turf. Its success caused a

number of plant breeding institutionsthroughout the world to redirect theirprograms to the development of im-proved turf-type ryegrasses. 'Manhattan'and other germplasm sources devel-oped at Rutgers have been used inmany breeding programs in NorthAmerica and Europe. 'Manhattan' andthe Kentucky bluegrass hybridizationprogram gave considerable interna-tional recognition to the Rutgers pro-gram. It also convinced our adminis-trators that the program was worthy ofthe support of a full-time technician anda graduate assistantship. 'Manhattan II'(Funk et al., 1984) was developedjointly with Pure-Seed Testing and theManhattan Ryegrass Growers Associ-ation. It was released in 1983 to replace'Manhattan' in the USA. However, theexcellent wear tolerance and winterperformance of the original 'Manhattan'have encouraged managers of Europeansoccer fields to continue its widespreaduse.

Continuing germplasm collectionand population improvement programsat Rutgers and elsewhere have resultedin a continued stream of better per-forming cultivars widely used in NorthAmerica, Europe, Japan, eastern Asia,and Australia. Seed production of turf-type ryegrasses in the USA exceeded200 million pounds in the year 2000.With each new National TurfgrassEvaluation Program (NTEP) trial, thebest performing cultivars of the pre-vious test usually end up mostly on thesecond page of the new test only fouror five years later. This documents theeffectiveness of the continued popula-tion improvement programs. They in-volve many cycles of phenotypic andgenotypic selection and populationbackcrossing. Each cycle of improve-ment builds on the achievements of allprevious cycles in these cross-polli-nated species.

The occurrence of gray leafspot, anew disease on many ryegrass turfs,presents another challenge to turfgrassbreeders. Fortunately, genes for resis-tance have been found in new germ-plasm collections. made in easternEurope by Dr. Meyer and his associates.These resistant plants have beencrossed and backcrossed with the bestplants from Rutgers and already com-bine good turf performance withgenetic resistance to gray leafspot andother diseases.

Tall FescueTall fescue is native to Europe and

parts of Africa. It is best adapted to the

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2001 21

hot, dry summer climates surroundingmuch of the Mediterranean Sea. Theselection of 'Kentucky 31' and its re-lease in the early 1940s initiated itswidespread use throughout the warm,humid transition zone of the USAand the Mediterranean climates ofCalifornia and Oregon. Natural selec-tion of the best -adapted plants occurredover many decades on seed fromEurope planted on a hillside pasture inKentucky. Only plants able to survivethe environmental stresses, diseases,and insect pests of this hot, humidlocation were able to produce multiplegenerations of seedlings. This concen-trated the genetic factors for betteradaptation to this new environment.Plants selected from this pasture wereused as the parental germplasm of'Kentucky 31.' It rapidly became widelyused for reducing soil erosion, provid-ing forage, and as a deep-rooted, heat-tolerant turfgrass.

Many turfgrass scientists recognizedthe useful qualities of tall fescue but alsothe need to overcome its limitations asa high quality turfgrass. An extensivegermplasm collection effort coveringmany thousands of hectares of old turfsthroughout the USA located a fewattractive tall fescue plants that hadpersisted and spread to produce attrac-tive turfs from 1 to more than 5 metersin diameter. Their appearance and thehistory of the turfs indicated that theylikely originated from seed sourcesbrought from Europe many decadesearlier. After evaluation in mowedclonal trials and spaced-plant nurseries,the best performing plants were inter-crossed and single-plant progenies wereseeded in turf trials mowed at 2 em.Plots of 'Kentucky 31' and other culti-vars were unable to persist under theseconditions of frequent close mowingand were soon replaced by weeds. Thebest appearing plants were thenselected from the best survivingprogenies to initiate another cycle ofselection. Additional germplasm wasadded as it became available from thecontinuing collection effort. A fewpromising plants selected from tri-species hybrids of perennial ryegrass,meadow fescue, and tall fescue devel-oped at the U.S. Regional PastureResearch Laboratory, University Park,Pa., were included.

'Rebel' tall fescue (Funk et al., 1981)was released in 1980 following 18yearsof plant selection and population im-provement. 'Rebel' is considered alandmark cultivar, being the first of anew class of turf-type tall fescues with

22 USGA GREEN SECfION RECORD

Endophytic fungi are associated withenhanced turfgrass performance andimproved turf resistance to harmfulinsects. Work at Rutgers University hasfocused on perennial ryegrass, tall fescues,and fine fescue performance.

finer leaves, greater density, a slowerrate of vertical growth, better shadetolerance, a brighter darker-green color,improved wear resistance, and greaterpersistence under close mowing. 'Rebel'and subsequent turf-type tall fescuecultivars and enhanced germplasmsdeveloped at Rutgers have contributedto most improved turf-type tall fescueson the market today.

Data from NTEP tests show con-tinuing improvements in overall. turfperformance in tall fescue cultivars.Many new tall fescues are consistentlyoutperforming cultivars available onlyfour or "fiveyears earlier. A substantialpercentage of these best performingnew cultivars come directly from theRutgers turfgrass breeding program andfrom companies working jointly withRutgers (Table 1).

Fine Fescues

Fine fescues include strong creepingred, Chewings, hard, blue, and slendercreeping fescues. As a group, they havefine, bristle-like leaves and the ability toproduce a dense, fine-textured turftolerant of medium-low soil fertility,moderately acid soils, moderate shade,tree root competition, and cold winters.They do not tolerate high nitrogenfertility, flooding, or poor drainage,especially during warm to hot weather.Continuing genetic improvements makeeach of these species more useful tohomeowners and turfgrass professionals.

Professor Robert W Duell and hisstudents, including Richard Schmidtand Tony Palazzo, showed great interestin fine fescues and participated in thedevelopment of 'Banner' Chewingsfescue (Duell et al., 1976) released in1985 and 'Fortress' strong creeping redfescue. Forty-five plants selected fromold turfs in New Jersey, Maryland,

Pennsylvania, and New York wereused as the parents of 'Banner' afterextensive clonal evaluation and prog-eny testing. Ongoing collection andpopulation improvement are continu-ing to improve Chewings, hard, blue,and strong creeping red fescues. Culti-vars developed by or with the partici-pation of Rutgers continue to performvery well in NTEP tests (Table 1).Screening of large seedling populationsunder short -day-length, cool-tempera-ture winter greenhouse conditions hasbeen effective in selecting plants withgreater disease resistance, higher tillernumber, a slower rate of vertical leafelongation, and a richer, brighter dark-green color. Similar results have beenobtained in screening large seedlingpopulations of tall fescue and perennialryegrass.

Rough BluegrassRough bluegrass (Poa trivialis L.) is

adapted to cool, moist, shaded environ-ments but rapidly becomes dormant insummer when subjected to heat anddrought. Improved turf-type cultivarsare often very useful for the winteroverseeding of dormant warm-seasonturfgrasses in the southern USA andsimilar regions. However, this species isfrequently a weed in many cool-seasonturfs in temperate climates. Drs. HenryIndyk and Ralph Engel collected anumber of attractive plants from oldturfs in New Jersey and surroundingstates. William K. Dickson, a technicianon the turfgrass breeding team, waseager to see if he could make a highquality turfgrass cultivar from these andother collections. Intercrosses of thebest performing selections were sub-jected to cycles of phenotypic recurrentselection and produced the cultivar'Sabre' (Dickson et al., 1980) releasedin 1977.Sabre quickly became acceptedin the winter overseeding market andeventually encouraged other tun grassbreeders to develop turf-type roughbluegrasses. Richard Hurley, studyingfor his Ph.D. degree at Rutgers, chose towork with rough bluegrass for histhesis project. A new, expanded germ-plasm collection and population im-provement program resulted in thedevelopment of 'Laser' (Hurley et al.,1990) and subsequently 'Winterplay'and 'Laser II.'

Kentucky BluegrassKentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis

L.) is a major lawn-type turfgrass formuch of the northern two-thirds of theUSA and southern Canada. The land

Funk. 1990. Registration of 'Laser' roughbluegrass. Crop Sci. 30:1357-1358.

C. REED FUNK and WILLIAM A.MEYER are professors in the Departmentof Plant Science at Rutgers University.

This article was adapted with permissionfrom an article with the same title in theProceedings of the Tenth Annual RutgersTurfgrass Symposium - 2001.

Hard Fescues - 24 Entries ,6. Nordic7.ABT-HF29. ISI FL-12

10. ISI FL-11

J:i 1,

1.40012. ABT-HF13. Oxford4. SRX3961

Table 1Top Perfonning Cultivars Developed with Participation

of the Rutgers Turfgrass Breeding Program in RecentNational Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) Tests

National Tall Fescue - 1992 - Final Report 1993-95 - 92 Entries*1. Jaguar 3 8. Coyote3. Houndog V 9. Finelawn Petite4. Genesis ' 10. Pixie5. Pride

National Tall Fescue - 1996 - Progress Report 1999 - 129 Entries1. Rembrandt . 7. Coyote2. Millennium, ,. 9. Shenandoah II4. Plantation 10. Jaguar 35. Masterpiece '

National' Perennial Ryegrass - 1994 - Final Report 1995-98 - 96 Entries1. Palmer III . 4. Calypso II2. Brightstar II' ,," 5. Premier II3. Secretariat '" 7. Monterey of " ,

National Kentucky Bluegrass - 1995 - Progress Report 1999Medium-High Input - 103 Entries Low Input - 21 Entries1. Midnight, 2. Eagleton5. Princeton P-105 4. Caliber

, 10. DragonNational Bentgrass - 1993 - Final Report - '1994-97

Putting Green - 28 Entries Fairway- Tee - 21.Entries1. L-93 . 4. Southshore8. Southshore

Nationai Bentgrass - 1998 - Progress Report - 1999Putting Green -:-29 Entries , , Fairway- Tee7. L-93 1. L-93

National Fineleaf Fescue Test - 1998 - Progress Report 1999 - 79 EntriesStrong Creeping Red Fescues - 22 Entries

1. Jasper II 6. ISI FRR- 72. SRX-52961 7. ISI FRR-53. ABT-CR-2 8. ,PST-4FR4. ABJ'-CR-3 9. Florentine5. PST-EFL 10. Pathfinder

Chewings Fescues - 24 Entries1. Longfellow II 6. Treasure2. Ambassador 8. Pick FRC A-933. ABT-CHW-3 9. Shadow II4. 'ABT-CHW-2 . 10. Pick FRe 4-925. Intngue

" '

*Numbers r~fer to rank in turf quality averaged over all locations.

Funk, C. R., and J. F. White, Jr. 1997.Use ofnatural and transformed endophytes for turfimprovement. In: C. W Bacon and N. S.Hill (ed.) Neotyphodium/Grass Interations:Plenum Press, New York.Hurley, R. H., V G. Lehman, J. A. Murphy,and C. R. Funk. 1994. Registration of'Southshore' creeping bentgrass. Crop Sci.34: 1124-1125.Hurley, R. H., M. E. Pompei, M. B. Clark-Ruh, R. F. Bara, W K. Dickson, and C. R.

ReferencesDickson, W K., G. W Pepin, R. E. Engel,and C. R. Funk. 1980. Registration of'Sabre' roughstalk bluegrass. Crop Sci.20:668.Duell, R. W, R. M. Schmit, C. R. Funk, andR. J. Peterson. 1976. Registration of 'Banner'fine fescue. Crop Sci. 16:123.Engel, R. E., G. W Pepin, and C. WEdminster. 1994. Registration of 'Cobra'creeping bentgrass. Crop Sci. 34:306.Funk, C. R., R. E. Engel, W K. Dickson, andR. H. Hurley. 1981. Registration of 'Rebel'tall fescue. Crop Sci. 21 :632.Funk, C. R., R. E. Engel, and P M. Halisky.1969. Registration of 'Manhattan' perennialryegrass. Crop Sci. 9:679-680.Funk, C. R., W A. Meyer, and B. L. Rose.1984. Registration of 'Manhattan II' peren-nial ryegrass. Crop Sci. 24:823-824.

growing Kentucky bluegrass lawns hasa higher real estate value than the landgrowing any of our major crop plantssuch as com or soybeans! Its high andvariable chromosome number (2n = 28to 153), its complex embryology, andits apomictic method of reproductionpresent great challenges and oppor-tunities to plant breeders. Apomixis isa method of asexual reproduction inwhich nearly all seeds of a highly apo-mictic plant produce plants geneticallyidentical to their maternal parent.Sperm nuclei from the pollen merelyfertilize the polar nuclei to produce theendosperm. Apomixis is a nearly idealmethod of producing a hybrid cultivar.It can retain maximum hybrid vigorthrough future cycles of seed increaseand eliminates the disadvantages ofvegetative propagation. The develop-ment and use of apomictic reproduc-tion in major crops such as wheat, rice,soybeans, cotton, tree crops, and alfalfawould substantially increase world pro-duction of food, forage, and fiber.

Kentucky bluegrass has great geneticdiversity and is naturalized through-out virtually all temperate regions ofthe world. The species includes germ-plasm with virtually every character-istic wanted in an ideal lawngrass.However, turfgrass breeders have yetto develop a rapid, efficient breedingmethod to recombine all of thesecharacteristics into one interbreedingpopulation or apomictic cultivar.

Currently, the Rutgers turfgrass breed-ing group is expanding its Kentuckybluegrass improvement program. Capa-ble, energetic young scientists will pro-duce both better cultivars and moreeffective breeding and evaluationtechniques.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2001 23