Bluegrasses

Poa is a diverse genus of widely adapted, cool-season grasses containing approximately 300 species, most of which are palatable and nutritious as forage. The representative species of Poa, both agronomically and botanically is Kentucky bluegrass Poa pratensis L. in North America (smooth meadowgrass in Europe). This chapter focuses almost completely on this species; however nine other important bluegrasses are discussed. In the development of commercial cultivars, both forage and turf breeders emphasize agronomic traits such as insect and disease resistance, seed yield and its components, seed quality, environmental stress tolerance, and persistence. Additional traits of importance in forage breeding include herbage yield, seasonal distribution, and forage quality. Selection for enhanced forage quality often requires sophisticated laboratory and animal systems for proper evaluation and there is no record of selection for forage quality traits. An important contribution towards breeding Kentucky bluegrass would be a method of manipulating the apomictic breeding system.