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Using Plant Breeding and Genetics to Overcome the Incidence of Grass Tetany¹

University of Missouri, Columbia 65211, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68583, Utah State University, Logan 84322-6300 and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kimberly, ID 10664

Abstract

Plant breeders developing cultivars to minimize the hazards of grass tetany are concentrating largely on increasing herbage Mg concentrations in cool-season (C₃) grasses. Significant genetic variation has been found for Mg, Ca and K concentrations within C₃ grass species studied to date. For most C₃ forage grass species, heritability estimates are highest for Mg, slightly lower for Ca and lowest for K concentrations. The largest genotype x environmental interactions are found for K values, whereas small environmental effects have been observed for Mg and Ca values. No C₃ forage grass cultivar has been developed to date that would eliminate hypomagnesemia. Grass breeders need to develop more experimental C₃ plant populations that have high Mg and Ca concentrations. These experimental synthetics with genetically altered mineral concentrations need to be fed to ruminants susceptible to grass tetany to determine whether grass tetany can be eliminated or reduced. Limited feeding trials using ruminants show that improved animal performance can be expected when feeding forage grasses bred for higher Mg concentrations.

¹ Presented at a symposium titled "Magnesium Metabolism and Grass Tetany" at the ASAS 80th Annu. Mtg., New Brunswick, NJ.

² Dept. of Agron., Univ. of Missouri.

³ USDA-ARS, Dept. of Agron., Univ. of Nebraska.

⁴ USDA-ARS, Utah State Univ.

⁵ USDA-ARS, Route 1, Box 186, Kimberly, ID.

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