Species Identification and Morphological Trait Diversity Assessment in Ryegrass (Lolium spp.) Populations from Texas Blacklands
Abstract Ryegrass (Lolium spp.) is a troublesome weed in major wheat producing regions in the U.S. High diversity and adaptive potential are known to contribute to its success as a weed species and also create difficulties in correct species identification in fields. The objective of this research was to characterize diversity for 16 different morphological traits among 56 Lolium populations collected from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production fields across the Texas Blacklands region and identify specific Lolium species based on taxonomical characteristics. Populations were highly diverse (both at inter- and intra-population levels) for the traits studied, and a taxonomical comparison with USDA-GRIN reference samples revealed that all the populations were variants of Italian ryegrass [Lolium perenne L. ssp. multiflorum (Lam.) Husnot] with a few offtypes of perennial (Lolium perenne L.) or probable hybrids between the two species. Hierarchical clustering grouped the populations into 6 clusters based on their similarities for the morphological traits investigated. Principal component analysis showed that the variability for yield traits greatly contributed to the total diversity. Pre-flowering plant height (stage 10 on Feekes scale) was positively correlated with tiller count, shoot biomass, spike count, but not with total seed count/plant, whereas plant height at maturity (stage 11.3-11.4 on Feekes scale) was highly correlated with total seeds/plant. Further, basal node color was positively correlated with plant growth habit, regrowth rate, and leaf color. Leaf blade width was positively correlated with survival to pinoxaden and multiple herbicides, whereas, spike count was negatively correlated with survival to mesosulfuron. The high levels of intra- as well as inter-population variability documented in this study indicates the potential of this species to rapidly adapt to herbicides, and emphasizes the need for implementing diverse management tactics including the integration of harvest weed seed control.