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Processes underlying branching differences in fodder crops

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Abstract

Plant architectural characteristics are under strong genetic regulation. Economically important traits for forage crops such as biomass yield, ground cover and persistence can be improved by selecting for particular aerial architectural characteristics. Here, we present an easily applicable method for the spatiotemporal description of branching patterns in red clover (Trifolium pratense) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), two of the most important forage crops in Europe. A detailed analysis of genotypes with contrasting branching phenotypes demonstrates that in these species different factors are the main determinants of shoot branching characteristics. In red clover, bud outgrowth and to a lesser extent bud formation explain inter-genotype branching differences. In perennial ryegrass, differences in the capacity to form new buds determined largely the differences between forage and turf types. However, when a set of four forage types was compared in a separate experiment, variation in quantity and pace of bud formation and bud outgrowth explained the differences in aerial architecture. In both crops, branching patterns are likely determined by several processes, and highly branched phenotypes can result from the formation of more buds, an increased probability of bud outgrowth, or a combination of these processes. Furthermore, the presence of more buds is partly caused by more bud outgrowth.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Nancy Mergan for excellent technical support with the detailed measurements for plant growth, and Katleen Sucaet and Luc Van Gijseghem for plant maintenance. Tom Ruttink is acknowledged for fruitful discussions and critical reading of the manuscript, Miriam Levenson for English language review. This work was supported by the agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) [LO 080510]. Annemie Van Minnebruggen is supported by a PhD fellowship of the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries research (ILVO).

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Author notes

  1. Antje Rohde

    Present address: Bayer CropScience, 9052, Ghent, Belgium

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Sciences Unit – Growth and Development, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), 9090, Melle, Belgium

    Annemie Van Minnebruggen, Gerda Cnops, Oana Saracutu, Erik Van Bockstaele, Isabel Roldán-Ruiz & Antje Rohde

  2. Department of Plant Production, Faculty Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Annemie Van Minnebruggen & Erik Van Bockstaele

  3. Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, 9052, Ghent, Belgium

    Sofie Goormachtig

  4. Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052, Ghent, Belgium

    Sofie Goormachtig

Authors
  1. Annemie Van Minnebruggen
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  2. Gerda Cnops
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  3. Oana Saracutu
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  5. Erik Van Bockstaele
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  6. Isabel Roldán-Ruiz
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  7. Antje Rohde
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Isabel Roldán-Ruiz.

Additional information

Annemie Van Minnebruggen and Gerda Cnops have contributed equally to this work.

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Van Minnebruggen, A., Cnops, G., Saracutu, O. et al. Processes underlying branching differences in fodder crops. Euphytica 195, 301–313 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-013-0997-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-013-0997-9

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