49. Volume 14- Number 1 - IP Australia

PLANT VARIETIES JOURNAL 2001 VOL 14 NO. 1
Table 22 continued
STEM COLOUR (RHS, 1995)
yellow green red purple red purple
144C 60A 60A
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Eragrostis elongata
Lovegrass
‘Elvera’
Application No: 1997/167 Accepted: 7 Aug 1997.
Applicant: Todd Layt, Clarendon, NSW.
Characteristics (Table 23, Figure 55) Plant: dense, large,
compact, attractive ornamental grass. Leaves: colour mid
green, glabrous, flat, leaf to seed head ratio high so that the
flowering culms are just above the main leaf mass or
tussock. Inflorescence: long with many branches, individual
side flowers short but with expanded ends creating a knoblike
appearance where the florets are congested. Florets:
mostly appressed to the culm, with sub-sessile spikelets,
spikelets colour lavender. Seed: colour deep purple.
Origin and Breeding Single plant selection: 5000 plants
were grown from a seed batch of Eragrostis elongata
collected from Sydney area. In the first cycle of selection,
six plants were selected for their purple flower head colour.
These were planted and monitored for a year. In the second
selection cycle, one plant was selected that had a taller leaf
to seed head ratio but a shorter seed head than the parent
and a shorter flower head. Seed was collected from this
plant and 100 plants grown. Seed from these plants was
grown and the resulting plants used in the trial as ‘Elvera’.
Selection criteria: longer living, taller leaf, tiller growth,
deep purple seed colour. Propagation: seed. Breeder: Todd
Layt, Clarendon, NSW.
Choice of Comparators The parental type and a similar
Victorian ecotype were chosen as comparators. No other
similar varieties of common knowledge have been
identified.
Comparative Trial Location: Abulk, Clarendon, NSW.
Condition: trial conducted in 125mm pots, potting mix was
ANL No. 2 mix. 4 to 5 month Osmocote® was used twice,
irrigated. Trial design: 30 pots of each generation of the
candidate and 45 pots of each comparators were arranged in
a completely randomised design. All plants were treated
equally and trimmed at 3 months after planting.
Measurements: taken from 10 plants selected at random
from each comparator and the candidate plant.
Prior Applications and Sales
No prior applications. ‘Elvera’ was first sold in Australia in
spring 1997.
Description: Brian Quinn, Newham, VIC.
Table 23 Eragrostis varieties
‘Elvera’ * E. elongata * E. elongata
Parental Victorian
Type Ecotype
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WIDTH OF FLAG LEAF – Taken at Widest Point (mm)
mean 4.09 3.41 3.15
std deviation 0.47 0.71 0.41
LSD/sig 0.83 ns P≤0.01
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FLAG LEAF LENGTH (mm)
mean 108.10 216.20 127.20
std deviation 26.73 58.94 29.31
LSD/sig 58.80 P≤0.01 ns
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LENGTH FROM FLAG LEAF TO END OF FLOWERING
CULM
mean 97.60 227.60 155.30
std deviation 28.73 77.78 51.79
LSD/sig 101.63 P≤0.01 ns
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LENGTH OF LOWEST INFLORESCENCE – from Junction
with Culm to End (mm)
mean 9.80 15.60 29.20
std deviation 1.62 3.59 12.98
LSD/sig 11.24 ns P≤0.01
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Festuca arundinacea
Tall Fescue
‘Prosper’
Application No: 2000/039, Accepted 29 Mar 2000.
Applicant: Barenbrug Research, Oosterhout, The
Netherlands.
Agent: Heritage Seeds Pty Ltd, Mulgrave, VIC.
Characteristics (Table 24, Figure 57) Ploidy: hexaploid.
Plant: Mediterranean type forage tall fescue. Stem: long,
with very long upper internode. Leaf: vegetative leaves long
narrow, flag leaf very long. Flower: inflorescence very long,
short awned spikelets (13.06mm), medium heading
(56.1days).
Origin and Breeding Mass selection: two cycles of mass
selection from Festuca arundinacea plant collections in
Manutauban, France. Selection criteria: rust resistance,
winter vigour, rapid establishment. ‘Prosper’ is distinct for
the original source material in heading date, lack of
aftermath heading, flag leaf length (long), vegetative leaf
width (narrow), upper internode length (long). Propagation:
‘Prosper’ is maintained by open pollination through four
generations. It will be commercially propagated by seed.
Breeder: Barenbrug Research, Oosterhout, The
Netherlands.
Choice of Comparators Tall fescue varieties, ‘Grasslands
Advance’ A , ‘Bombina’ A , ‘Encore’, ‘Flecha’, ‘Fraydo’ A ,
‘Midwin’ A , ‘Resolute’ were considered as comparators as
these are the similar varieties of common knowledge in
Australia. In addition, New Zealand varieties ‘Au Triumph’,
‘Dovey’, ‘Quantum’, ‘Torpedo’ and ‘Vulcan’ were also
included in the trial. These varieties were found to be
distinct from ‘Prosper’ in at least two or more
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