—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. April 28. t 973
8
Researchers Looking for
New experimental varieties of
alfalfa resistant to anthracnose
have out yielded several com
mercial varieties by at least 1 ton
acre in Maryland field tests.
These results indicate a major
breakthrough in incorporating
disease-resistance in forage
crops.
Anthracnose damages more
than 4 million acres of alfalfa
annually, accounting for losses of
several million dollars in
potential yields. Added to this
loss is the cost of weed control in
disease-weakened stands of
alfalfa. Such losses could be
significantly reduced by use of
the resistant varieties. En
vironmental pollution problems
would also be minimized because
less herbicide would be needed to
control weeds.
Plant geneticist Thomas E.
Devine and agronomist Clarence
H. Hanson, stationed at the
Agricultural Research Center,
Beltsville. Md., employed plant
breeding procedures that rapidly
built up high resistance to an-
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thracnose. The scientists ar
tificially inoculated tens of
thousands of seedlings with
anthracnose. They then selected
a large number of resistant
plants for intercrossing in
breeding procedures designed to
preserve genetic variation as
well as develop high resistance to
anthracnose. The new ex
permental varieties were
developed from Glacier,
Saranac, Team, and Vernal
alfalfa.
The experimental varieties had
85 to 95 percent pure stands. In
comparison, control plots of she
commercial varieties were
weakened by disease, and weeds
occupied over 50 percent of fhe
plot areas. Stands of susceptible
strains were lost in 2 years or
less. Stands of resistant strains
were still good after 3 years.
The experimental varieties
developed by Dr. Devine and Dr.
Hanson yielded 7 to 8 tons of
alfalfa hay per acre, annually, in
field plots in two areas of
Maryland. Such yields are ex-
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Hardy, Resistant Alfalfas
cellent for the East, exceeding
those of other varieties by a ton
or more. Good management
practices are partly responsible
for the high experimental yields.
Resistance to anthracnose,
however, played the most critical
role, because adjacent com
parison plots of the same parent
varieties received the same
management.
Seven of these experimental
alfalfas were released to plant
breeders for development of
named varieties adapted to local
conditions. Seed of varieties
developed from the experimental
strains may become available to
growers within 2 to 4 years.
ARS agronomist Oliver J.
Hunt, Reno, Nev., produced seed
of the experimental strains for
the Maryland tests. John A.
Schillinger, plant breeder, and
Lenat Hofmann, agronomist,
Maryland Agricultural Ex
periment Station, College Park,
cooperated with field evaluation
of the resistant strains.
Anthracnose resistance is
particularly important in the
South and the southern parts of
the Middle Atlantic and North
Central States. This disease is
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caused by the fungus
Colletotrichum trifolii, which
attacks the stems and crowns of
alfalfa. Depending on the
severity of the disease, plants
may be killed or debilitated
sufficiently to severely reduce
their productivity.
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i