Breeding Phalaris for Tolerance to a Range of Acid Soils

Phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) is a persistent, drought-hardy grass adapted lo mediterranean climates, but it is sensitive to free aluminum in acid soils. P. arundinacea L is more tolerant of soil acidity, and therefore it has been crossed to P. aquatica, followed by 1 or 2 backcrosses to P. aquatica. Open-pollinated progenies generated by I or 2 generations of random mating without selection were tested at 3 acid soil sites in Victoria and ACT. The mean herbage yields in winter were lower than the phalaris controls, but heritability and expected selection responses were high. There are good prospects for breeding better cultivars for acid soils that are waterlogged in winter, skeletal, or well drained.