https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/csc2.20122

Fine fescues: A review of the species, their improvement, production, establishment, and management

Se presenta el primer estudio taxonomico del genero Festuca para Colombia, el cual se encuentra representado por 31 especies nativas y 2 especies introducidas. Se describen 12 especies y 1 subespecie nuevas para la ciencia (F. boyacensis, F. chita, F. chitagana, F. cocuyana, F. hatico, F. monguensis, F. nereidaensis, F. pilar-franceii, F. sumapana, F. toca, F. venezuelana y F. woodii). Se incluyen descripciones e ilustraciones de todas las especies, aportandose datos sobre su ecologia y distribucion geografica y una clave para facilitar la determinacion de todas las especies de Festuca en Colombia

Las especies del género festuca (poaceae) en Colombia

Festuca rubra L. as perennial, rhizomatous grass distributed worldwide tolerates different ecological conditions and grows in various habitats. This grass is used in ecorestoration of contaminated sites due to its extensive root system, good seedling vigor, fast growing, large biomass, and high tolerance to unfavorable environmental conditions. F. rubra has a high phytoremediation potential for As, B, Cu, Zn, Mn, Mo, and Se from fly ash. Despite the leaf chlorosis and necroses, deposited particles of fly ash on leaf surface, reduced photosynthetic efficiency, photopigments content, and high oxidative stress, this plants shows increased content of phenolics, ascorbate, and high total antioxidant activity. F. rubra growing on fly ash deposits shows a great adaptive potential indicating that this native grass has prominent role in ecosystem functioning, providing an excellent opportunity to implement this plant species in the police frameworks, sustainable management practices, and ecosystem services.

Feasibility of Festuca rubra L. native grass in phytoremediation

Salinity is one of the major problems facing agricultural production worldwide, particularly in arid and semiarid environments. Unfortunately, most major economic crops (glycophytes) cannot tolerate saline conditions, even at low concentrations (<40 mM NaCl). Halophytes are tolerant of high salinities, up to 200 mM NaCl. Therefore, there is increased interest in the production of new cultivars that have the potential to produce higher yields under saline conditions. There is also research interest in understanding the various strategies, including salt tolerance and salt avoidance, that halophytes use to adapt to saline conditions, besides conventional habits like accumulation of compatible solutes and polyamine production. Additionally, halophytes use a number of complicated mechanisms to grow and reproduce under such harsh conditions, such as regulating ion concentrations in cells, exuding excessive salt from plant tissues, and eliminating salts via glands and hairs to keep salt concentrations in leaves and shoots below a certain threshold. Some halophytes produce high leaf/stem succulence or accumulate excessive salt in old leaves. Other species use ion accumulation and control plant growth to cope with salinity. In this chapter we discuss the classification and distribution of halophytes and their potential role as resources for humankind (food, oil, forage, and biofuel). Glycophyte growth is affected by high salinity, which can lead to plant death. Therefore, glycophytes use various strategies to enhance growth under salinity stress, such as producing salt-tolerant genotypes and using different mechanisms—like excretion of salt ions and salt sequestration—to improve growth and productivity. Salinity stress reduces glycophyte growth due to its negative effects on the metabolism and phytohormone levels, such as cytokinin and gibberellic acid. In addition, high salt levels have an adverse effect on water relations and disturb the nutritional balance in plant cells.

Plant Responses and Tolerance to Extreme Salinity: Learning from Halophyte Tolerance to Extreme Salinity

Generative tillers are a source of assimilates necessary for the seed formation. However, their excessive elongation, especially under high doses of nitrogen, increases the susceptibility to lodging. The growth of generative shoots depends, among others on the root biomass affecting nutrient uptake, and on the ability to form rhizomes, as well as on the competitiveness of parallel developing vegetative tillers. Two-replicate field experiments were performed in Poland (53°09′ N, 17°35′ E), to determine the effect of plant growth regulators (PGRs) (single application of chloromequat chloride (CCC) at BBCH 30-31 or sequential treatment CCC at BBCH 30-31 + ethephon (ET) or CCC at BBCH 30-31 + trinexapac-ethyl (TE) at BBCH 37-39, and N fertilization (40 and 70 kg ha−1) on the length of generative tillers, the weight of generative and vegetative tillers, the canopy height, the weight of roots and rhizomes, and on N uptake in Festuca rubra L ssp. rubra (strong creeping red fescue) and F. r. L ssp. commutata (Chewings red fescue). Chewings red fescue turned to be more sensitive to the retardants. Generative tillers were shorter after single application of CCC as well as sequential treatment CCC + ET or TE. The tillers of strong creeping red fescue were shortened only after the application of CCC + TE. In every PGR treatments the canopy height at harvest was greater than in the control. Increasing the N rate from 40 to 70 kg ha−1 caused the reduction canopy height of strong creeping red fescue. Increased production of above-ground biomass, especially generative tillers, resulted in an increase in N accumulation in Chewings red fescue, as compared with strong creeping. Increasing the nitrogen rate from 40 to 70 kg ha−1, despite the reduction of root dry matter weight, stimulated generative tiller dry matter accumulation but it did not affect the biomass of vegetative tillers.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/1/4/pdf

Above- and Below-Ground Part Growth in Chewings and Strong Creeping Red Fescue Grown for Seed Resulting from Retardants and N Fertilization

Thirty-eight accessions of red fescue (Festuca rubra L.), collected from different bioclimatic regions of Ukraine and Latvia, were evaluated for 16 quantitative traits in the Central Lowland of Lithuania. The research was aimed to evaluate morpho-anatomical traits of the populations and reveal the relationship with their geographic origin. The data collected indicated that F. rubra populations differing in origin were quite similar in their morphology. However, significant differences in length of lemma, flag and stem leaf laminas, number of leaf ribs, veins and sclerenchyma bundles were established between the Ukrainian and Latvian populations. Moreover, a greater variation of morpho-anatomical traits was noted for the populations from southern part of F. rubra distribution range. Principal component analysis enabled us to differentiate 7 most promising populations (of which 6 were from Ukraine) based on the most important pre-breeding traits such as seed number per plant and plant height.

E. Norkevičienė

Papers

Assessment of morpho-anatomical traits of red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) germplasm differing in origin.