Popis: |
‘Aloha’ (Reg. No. CV-3, PI 652948) seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum O. Swartz) was developed at the Everglades Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida and jointly released by the Florida and Hawaii agricultural experiment stations. It was initially approved for release in early 2005 and a pending plant patent was submitted in late 2005. This variety of seashore paspalum was selected as an open-pollinated progeny derived from naturalized local landraces growing on the island of Hawaii and was tested in southern Florida under the coded breeding line number H99–47. Aloha was selected for improved agronomic, horticultural, and host-plant resistance traits including a faster rate of crop establishment and ground coverage, darker and deeper green leaf color, and superior resistance to the greenbug aphid (Schizaphis graminum Rondani; Homoptera:Aphididae). In comparison to a set of standard varieties, Aloha attained 50% plot coverage in less than 4 mo whereas the standards took, on average, more than 5 mo. The leaf color of Aloha was a darker green and had a deeper hue than the standard varieties, and the greenbug aphids took longer to reach reproductive maturity, had a shorter lifespan, and produced fewer offspring when cultured on Aloha. Aloha also exhibited a morphology distinct from the standards for a set of measured infl orescence and vegetative traits. |