Relationship of Latitude-of-Origin to Winter Survival and to Forage and Seed Yields of Wheatgrass (Agropyron species) in Subarctic Alaska

Abstract

Five field experiments evaluating and comparing numerous grasses were conducted over seven years at the Matanuska Research Farm (61.6°N) near Palmer in southcentral Alaska. Grasses were 34 strains within 14 species of wheatgrass (Agropyron) derived from various geographic areas spanning 32 degrees of latitude; also included were the intergeneric hybrid Agroelymus palmerensis Lepage, Siberian wildrye (Elymus sibiricus L.), two bromegrass (Bromus) cultivars, and one timothy (Phleum pratense L.) cultivar. They were grown in broadcast-seeded plots for forage (two cuts per year), in drilled rows for seed production, and as individual plants in rows for winter-survival determinations.