Performance of High‐Magnesium Cultivars of Three Cool‐Season Grasses Grown in Nutrient Solution Culture

Abstract

Breeding for high magnesium (Mg) concentrations has been conducted for several forage species. Mgwell, Magnet, and HiMag are the first experimental strains, bred for increased Mg concentrations of orchardgrass, Italian ryegrass, and tall fescue, respectively. This experiment compared the performance and genetic variability of these high‐Mg cultivars grown in solution culture with other cultivars in each species. Three mineral absorption experiments were carried out with one month aged seedlings. Seedlings were evaluated for shoot dry weight, uptake and concentration of Mg, calcium (Ca), and potassium (K), and also the density of these minerals in the shoot. The cultivars of different species behaved differently among the experiments even though the over all environmental condition was kept similar. The high‐Mg cultivars showed higher Mg uptake per plant, but the differences were not so distinct. However, the trend in Mg concentration among the cultivars of different species was similar, and the difference between high‐Mg cultivars and control cultivars was distinct. The Mg density in the shoot of these cultivars was significantly high. Also the high‐Mg cultivars showed lower equivalent ratio, K/(Ca + Mg). Genotypic differences in high‐Mg cultivars with others could be distinctly explained by differences in Mg concentration and Mg density in the shoot, which coupled with low K/(Ca + Mg) ratio. These common properties of high‐Mg cultivars might be considered as a good parameter for screening.