Using genome interactions in Festulolium to mitigate climatic change on forage production across Europe

As perennials, forage crops are more closely exposed to climate change than many other crops. Whilst a global elevation of temperature may appear favourable to higher productivity, higher temperatures are generally associated with more frequent and/or intense water deficits in summer. In addition, the expectations of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) stress that climate change will include more incidents of extreme and fluctuating weather events including episodes of heavy rainfall especially in Autumn and lower temperatures in Winter. [br/]In this context, forage grass breeders and geneticists have long been developing an inter(-generic)–specific hybridization approach to attribute genomic plasticity to varieties capable of providing adaptations to contrasting climate conditions sufficient to ensure consistent and sustainable forage production at different locations.[br/]Festulolium include all natural and artificial hybrids between the two genera of perennial grasses, Festuca (fescue) and Lolium (ryegrass). As synthetics, current Festulolium varieties involve one of the two ryegrass species (L. perenne, L; multiflorum) with any one of the three interrelated fescue species (F. arundinacea, F. pratensis and F. glaucescens); they may also exist under a range of quite diverse genome constitution including allotetraploid combinations and introgression-lines.[br/]A 21-entries trial of Festulolium and controls of pure species has been underway since 2012 in eight European countries, from oceanic and continental climate longitudinally as well as from cold Mediterranean to Nordic climate latitudinally. Forage productivity is currently assessed by a 3-5 cuts a year management depending on local seasonal growth. Feeding value at reproductive growth in spring is estimated through NIRS predictions of Nitrogen, lignin and water soluble carbohydrate content in dry matter. Disease susceptibility, persistency and recovery of the plots are also scored at the crucial times of the year following strong climatic stresses.[br/]It is expected that the stress tolerance traits, which are widely distributed among parental species, and included at various degree in Festulolium, will be clarified in their respective roles on long term persistency and pasture productivity. Given the IPCC expectations for the near future and the constant advance in molecular tools and cytogenetics, outcomes of the field trials will help better define realistic ideotypes of grass varieties and will provide a guide to future plant breeding strategies.