Ryegrasses

Ryegrasses (Lolium spp) are among the most important pasture, forage and turf grasses in the world. Together with the closely related fescues (Festuca spp), ryegrasses are one of the major temperate grassland species of agriculturally cultivated land and a key forage species in countries with intensive livestock production systems (Forster and Spangenberg 1999). Ryegrasses are widely distributed throughout temperate regions on all continents and extensively used as a forage crop throughout mainland Europe, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, USA and Japan. Since the 1950s breeding efforts through selection, hybridization and artificial tetraploid induction have contributed to the genetic improvement of ryegrass through traits such as above-ground biomass, yield and disease resistance (Hunt and Easton 1989; Cunningham et al. 1994). The demand for high-quality ryegrass varieties for grassland agriculture continues to grow.