Hybrid variety of (Texas Bluegrass×Kentucky Bluegrass)×Kentucky Bluegrass designated ‘HB 329’

Abstract

A hybrid variety of (Texas bluegrass×Kentucky bluegrass)×Kentucky bluegrass as described, characterized by a moderately rapid establishment; a light green, dense turf; a wide leaf blade; aggressive rhizome growth; a reduced level of cotton on the seed; and a low to medium-low seed yield potential.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a new and distinct hybrid variety of (Texas Bluegrass×Kentucky Bluegrass)×Kentucky Bluegrass that has been designated as ‘HB 329’ bluegrass.

Description of Related Art

A Texas Bluegrass×Kentucky Bluegrass hybrid designated ‘Reveille’ has been disclosed in PVP Certificate No. 9800337. Another Texas Bluegrass×Kentucky Bluegrass hybrid designated ‘HB 129’ has been disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/197,945, filed Aug. 5, 2005, claiming the benefit of provisional application No. 60/599,446, filed Aug. 5, 2004.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

‘HB 329’ bluegrass originated as the progeny formed by crossing an interspecific hybrid bluegrass (Texas Bluegrass×Kentucky Bluegrass) designated HB 47 (a female plant 7-23×cv. ‘Geronimo’ male plant) as the female parent crossed with cv. ‘Ascot’ Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) as the pollen parent. As a result of this breeding, a distinct hybrid variety was produced asexually propagated by rhizomes, tillers and disseminules displaying perfect flowers, apomixis and turfgrass performance characteristics in the F₁ generation.

Interspecific hybrid bluegrass female plant HB 47 is an unreleased plant selected and maintained in Gervais, Oreg. for its tiller density, turf quality and lack of male reproductive organs. ‘Ascot’ Kentucky bluegrass was bred by The Scotts Company, Marysville, Ohio, and has been disclosed under the designation BA 77-279 Kentucky Bluegrass in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,977 P, issued Jul. 22, 1997).

The highly apomictic seed of ‘HB 329’ bluegrass was produced first at Gervais, Oreg. This seed was used to plant turf performance evaluation trials and later, seed production fields. The seed of ‘HB 329’ has been found to be stable. Asexual production of ‘HB 329’ initially was performed at Gervais, Oreg. by propagules (tillers and rhizomes) and by disseminules (modified caryopses produced by apomixis), and has consistently produced progeny plants indistinguishable from the first generation asexual reproduction of the instant plant. The apomixis level of ‘HB329’ is approximately 94%. The apomixis level was determined by examining field planting of ‘HB 329’ in two years of rating for apomictic origin and from plants grown in a controlled environment chamber from disseminules harvested over four growing seasons from field grown plants in Gervais, Oreg.

‘HB 329’ has a number of highly desirable characteristics, including a dark green color, a moderate level of seedling vigor; high sod strength; and shows above average downy mildew and melting out disease tolerance when compared to other hybrid bluegrasses and Kentucky bluegrass varieties. ‘HB 329’ has an upright leafy turf type growth habit, and a dark green color that can be maintained throughout an entire growing season. ‘HB 329’ demonstrates very good fall color and very good winter color under mild winter conditions. ‘HB 329’ has shown good shade tolerance including downy mildew tolerance.

‘HB 329’ has a moderate amount of cotton (webbing) on the caryopsis. ‘HB 329’ has a low to medium-low seed yield potential in the Kentucky bluegrass seed production region of the northwestern United States and has shown the potential for economic seed production.

In comparison with the Reveille and ‘HB 129’ hybrids, ‘HB 329’ has demonstrated a germination and emergence rate slower than HB 129 but more rapid than Reveille in both fall and spring sowings. ‘HB 329’ has shown more seed cotton as compared ‘HB129’ and has less than ‘Reveille’. It is believed that the presence of the cotton on the Reveille seed results in poor seed recovery of this hybrid and causes ‘Reveille’ to be available predominantly as a vegetatively reproduced product from rhizome and tiller materials.

Texas bluegrass is a vigorous sod-forming perennial native in the Southeastern and Southern Plains States. Plants grow up to 3 feet on strong soil, with numerous leaves 6 to 12 inches long and 0.25 inch wide. The grass grows throughout the winter producing abundant, nutritious pasture which is highly palatable. This is a valuable species where native, but seeding is difficult. The species is dioecious, with male and female parents. It produces only limited quantities of seed which is covered with woolly hairs that are difficult to remove. Consequently, establishment of stands for agricultural use is limited. Accordingly, Texas bluegrass exhibits similar problems to those encountered with Reveille that are overcome by the present ‘HB 329’ hybrid.

In comparison with a number of Kentucky bluegrass varieties and with hybrid bluegrass varieties such as HB 129 and Reveille, ‘HB 329’ has an average to above-average seed size with a lower number of seeds per pound. The width of vegetative leaves of unmowed mature plants of ‘HB 329’ are of medium to wide. ‘HB 329’ has a short to intermediate flag leaf length and with fewer hairs on the upper margin of the ligule than ‘HB 129’, fewer hairs on the collar margin and dorsal side of the leaf sheath than ‘HB 129’ and Kentucky bluegrasses. ‘HB 329’ is shorter than ‘HB 129’ and ‘Reveille’ hybrid bluegrasses and is similar in plant height to ‘Ascot’ Kentucky bluegrass. ‘HB 329’ has fewer florets per spikelet than HB 129 and is similar to ‘Reveille’ hybrid bluegrass. Anther color is 87% purple and 13% yellow distinguishing ‘HB 329’ from ‘HB 129’ which is 100% purple.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is an ‘HB 329’ panicle;

FIG. 2 is an ‘HB 329’ seed; and

FIG. 3 is an ‘HB 329’ plant shortly after completing anthesis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

‘HB 329’ (Texas bluegrass×Kentucky bluegrass)×Kentucky bluegrass hybrid which may also be designated as (Poa arachnifera Torr.×Poa pratensis L.)×Poa pratensis L. hybrid is perennial with creeping rhizomes forming a moderately dense turf. When plants overwinter in the field and grow undisturbed by clipping, culms are semi-erect averaging 42.1 cm in length. The vegetative leaf averages 2.7 mm in width. The flag leaf averages 6.35 cm in length, 3.3 mm in width, has a sheath length of 12.35 cm. The flag leaf averages fewer hairs on the ligule than ‘HB 129’ hybrid bluegrass. The panicle averages 8.2 cm in length. The lowest whorl of the panicle averages 4.4 branches. ‘HB329’ has 4.6 florets per spikelet on the 1^st whorl and 5.0 florets per spikelet for the 3^rd whorl. The lower and upper glumes of the first whorl are 3.7 and 3.6 mm respectively and the lower and upper glumes of the third whorl are 3.6 and 3.7 mm respectively.

For the vegetative leaf, the number of hairs is average for the leaf sheath margin, below average for the dorsal side of the leaf blade, below average for the upper margin of the ligule, and below average for the collar margin compared to other varieties. ‘HB 329’ differs from the Kentucky bluegrass varieties in regard to such morphological characteristics as seed length and width, culm length, and hairs on the collar margins of the vegetative leaf, on the upper surface of the vegetative leaf, on the ligule of the flag leaf and anther color.

‘HB 329’ produces inflorescences relatively early compared with Kentucky bluegrasses, and reaches anthesis later than many other Kentucky bluegrass and hybrid bluegrass varieties.

Since environmental conditions such as soil and climate may influence morphological characteristics to some extent, comparisons of ‘HB 329’ were made with Kentucky bluegrass varieties and HB 129 hybrid bluegrass under like conditions and the comparisons are set forth in Tables 1-10, as follows.

TABLE 1
Comparison of heading data, seed yield, and plant height of
‘HB 329’ and various Kentucky bluegrass varieties and
HB 129 hybrid bluegrass for years 1 & 2.
	Heading Date	Seed Yield	Plant Height
	Year 1	Year 2	Year 1	Year 2	Year 1	Year 2
Variety	(Julian)	(g/10 ft row)	(cm)
‘HB 329’	108.2	100.8	11.2	7.4	51.1	54.3
HB 129	114.4	108.6	47.3	27.1	64.2	65.4
Midnight	126.3	136.3	33.4	12.0	54.2	45.5
America	125.3	122.8	29.2	20.4	40.1	43.3
Ram I	120.0	120.9	22.5	25.5	47.2	48.8
Julia	111.8	118.3	36.6	20.8	63.6	60.8
Baron	118.1	116.0	58.4	36.9	51.8	52.7
Adelphia	126.3	115.9	10.2	17.9	53.8	59.2
Nugget	121.1	114.5	4.7	4.3	34.3	30.1
Langara	118.1	114.3	31.9	34.8	46.2	56.0
Touchdown	105.4	107.3	55.9	13.0	57.6	58.7
LSD (0.05)	3.0	4.66	0.6	17.03	5.7	5.633

TABLE 2
Comparison of flag leaf position, length and width
and flag leaf sheath length of ‘HB 329’ and
various Kentucky bluegrass varieties and
HB 129 hybrid bluegrass for years 1 & 2.
	Length	Width	Sheath Length
	(mm)	(mm)	(cm)
	Position	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year	Year
Variety	Year 1	1	2	1	2	1	2
‘HB 329’	2.1	54	75	3.3	3.3	10.7	14.0
HB 129	1.4	60	73	3.8	3.3	13.2	15.4
Moonshadow	2.2	50	108	2.5	3.5	9.6	11.6
America	2.0	59	75	2.6	3.0	10.0	11.6
Baron	2.0	63	69	4.0	3.5	11.1	13.4
Langara	2.0	57	81	3.0	3.0	10.5	14.1
Midnight	2.0	74	86	3.4	3.2	10.7	11.4
Touchdown	1.6	60	81	3.5	3.6	12.9	16.4
Adelphia	1.5	53	79	3.3	3.2	10.7	13.4
Ram I	1.5	42	58	3.0	2.7	10.5	12.3
Julia	1.5	71	84	3.1	3.0	11.7	14.1
Nugget	1.4	29	41	2.2	2.1	7.4	9.0
LSD (0.05)	0.31	12.2	9.9	0.56	0.99	1.32	1.16
1 = Appressed
2 = Open Angle

TABLE 3
Comparison of panicle color, habit, branch attitude, branches in lowest
whorl, length and collar for ‘HB 329’ and various Kentucky bluegrass
varieties and HB 129 hybrid bluegrass for year 1.
	Panicle Characteristics
			Branch
Variety	Color	Habit	Attitude
‘HB 329’	1.9	1.8	2.9
HB 129	2.0	1.9	2.9
Touchdown	2.0	1.9	2.4
Baron	1.9	1.9	2.7
Midnight	1.9	1.0	1.7
Nugget	1.8	1.8	3.0
Ram I	1.6	2.0	3.0
Adelphia	1.4	2.0	1.4
Langara	1.3	1.0	2.7
Julia	1.3	1.0	1.0
Moonshadow	1.2	1.1	2.1
America	1.1	2.0	2.4
LSD (0.05)	0.23	0.24	0.24
	1 -	not red	1 -	nodding	1 -	drooping
	2 -	red	2 -	upright	2 -	horizontal
					3 -	ascending
	Panicle Characteristics
		Number of Branches	Length
	Variety	in Lowest Whorl	(cm)	Collar
	‘HB 329’	4.1	9.5	1.0
	HB 129	4.40	10.6	1.0
	Touchdown	3.82	10.4	—
	Baron	4.72	10.6	1.0
	Midnight	4.58	10.6	1.0
	Nugget	2.80	6.3	1.1
	Ram I	3.73	7.7	1.0
	Adelphia	4.01	10.2	1.1
	Langara	3.78	9.7	1.0
	Julia	4.52	11.4	1.0
	Moonshadow	4.49	9.4	1.0
	America	4.07	8.8	1.0
	LSD (0.05)	0.52	1.07	0.05
	1 -	open
	2 -	closed.

TABLE 4
Comparison of panicle color, habit, branch attitude, branches in lowest
whorl, length, and collar for ‘HB 329’ and various Kentucky bluegrass
varieties and HB 129 hybrid bluegrass for year 2.
			Branch
Variety	Color	Habit	Attitude
‘HB 329’	2.0	1.1	1.3
HB 129	2.0	1.1	1.0
Baron	2.0	1.7	1.1
Touchdown	2.0	1.0	1.2
Nugget	1.9	1.0	1.5
Midnight	1.8	1.9	1.2
Julia	1.2	1.3	1.1
Langara	1.1	1.0	1.0
Adelphia	1.1	1.1	1.3
Moonshadow	1.0	1.1	1.0
America	1.0	2.0	1.0
Ram I	1.0	1.6	1.0
LSD (0.05)	0.2993	0.2553	0.3610
	1 =	not red	1 =	nodding	1 =	drooping
	2 =	red	2 =	upright	2 =	horizontal
					3 =	ascending
		Number of Branches	Panicle
		in Lowest	Length
	Variety	Whorl	(cm)	Collar
	‘HB 329’	4.4	10.0	1.0
	HB 129	4.4	11.0	1.0
	Baron	4.8	10.2	1.1
	Touchdown	3.9	12.5	1.0
	Nugget	3.2	7.0	1.0
	Midnight	4.4	9.9	1.8
	Julia	4.2	11.4	1.2
	Langara	4.3	12.6	1.2
	Adelphia	4.2	12.3	1.6
	Moonshadow	4.3	9.8	1.3
	America	4.0	9.7	1.9
	Ram I	4.3	8.5	1.0
	LSD (0.05)	0.3899	1.578	0.3610
	1 =	open
	2 =	closed

TABLE 5
Comparison of panicle shape of rachis for ‘HB 329’ and various
Kentucky bluegrass varieties and
HB 129 hybrid bluegrass for years 1 & 2.
	Panicle Shape
	Variety	Year 1	Year 2
	‘HB 329’	2.0	1.9
	HB 129	1.8	1.9
	Nugget	2.0	1.3
	Adelphia	1.9	1.7
	Ram I	1.9	1.8
	Moonshadow	1.4	1.9
	Baron	1.2	1.9
	America	1.2	1.7
	Langara	1.1	1.8
	Touchdown	1.1	1.5
	Midnight	1.1	1.7
	Julia	1.0	2.0
	LSD (0.05)	0.117	0.255
	1 =	no bend	1 =	no bend
	2 =	bend	2 =	bend

TABLE 6
Comparison of anther color of ‘HB 329’ and various
Kentucky bluegrass varieties and HB 129 hybrid bluegrass for year 2.
	Anther Color Categories (% of all anthers examined)
Variety	Purple	Yellow	Brown
‘HB 329’	87	13	0
HB 129	100	0	0
Adelphia	67	33	0
America	46	54	0
Baron	16	84	0
Julia	26	74	0
Langara	65	35	0
Midnight	98	2	0
Nugget	70	30	0
Moonshadow	9	91	0
Ram I	100	0	0
Touchdown	11	89	0

TABLE 7
Leaf sheath morphological traits of Kentucky bluegrass accessions
measured 2002-2003 from the PVP nursery and greenhouse measurements
at the research facility of Pickseed West, Inc. Oregon.
				Hairs on Both
Bluegrass			Hairs on	Sides Under
Accessions	Keel		Surface	Collar
‘HB 329’	2		1	1 = 38% 2 = 62%
HB 129	2		1	1 = 8% 2 = 92%
America	2		1	2
Mercury	—		—	—
	1 -	absent	1 -	absent	1 -	absent
	2 -	present	2 -	present	2 -	present
		Base of	Surface
	Bluegrass	Sheath	Roughness
	Accessions	Color	To Touch
	‘HB 329’	1	1
	HB 129	1	1
	America	1	1
	Mercury	—	—
	1 -	green	1 -	smooth
	2 -	red	2 -	rough

TABLE 8
Leaf blade morphological traits of Kentucky bluegrass accessions
measured 2002-2003 from the PVP nursery and greenhouse measurements
at the research facility of Pickseed West, Inc. Oregon.
Bluegrass	Margin	Hairs Upper	Hairs Lower
Accessions	Hairs	Side	Side
‘HB 329’	2	1 = 77%	1
		2 = 23%
HB 129	2	2 = 82%	1
		1 = 18%
America	2	1	1
Mercury	—	—	—
	1 -	absent	1 -	absent	1 -	absent
	2 -	present	2 -	sparse	2 -	sparse
			3 -	dense	3 -	dense
	Bluegrass	Luster Upper	Luster Lower	Blade
	Accessions	Side	Side	Width
	‘HB 329’	2	1	3 = 8%
				4 = 92%
	HB 129	2	1	5
	America	2	1	2
	Mercury	—	—	—
	1 -	shiny	1 -	shiny	1 -	very fine
	2 -	dull	2 -	dull	2 -	fine
					3 -	medium
					4 -	broad
					5 -	very broad

TABLE 9
Lemma morphological traits and seed phenol reaction of Kentucky
bluegrass accessions measured 2002-2003 from the PVP nursery and
greenhouse measurements at the research facility of
Pickseed West, Inc. Oregon.
	Lemma
Bluegrass		Marginal	Intermediate
Accessions	Keel	Nerves	Nerves
‘HB 329’	1 - 35%	1 = 10%	1 = 5%
	2 - 55%	2 = 90%	2 = 95%
	3 - 10%
HB 129	1 - 55%	1 - 30%	1 - 15%
	2 - 45%	2 - 70%	2 - 85%
America	—	—	—
Mercury	1 - 90%	2	2
	2 - 10%
	1 -	glabrous	1 -	Yes	1 -	distinct
	2 -	slight	2 -	No	2 -	obscure
		pubescence
	3 -	pubescent
		Lemma	Seed
	Bluegrass	Basal	Phenol
	Accessions	Webbing	Reaction
	‘HB 329’	1 = 70%	1 = 8%
		2 = 30%	3 = 92%
	HB 129	1 - 90%	1 - 10%
		2 - 10%	2 - 90%
	America	—	—
	Mercury	2	1 - 5%
			2 - 95%
	1 -	absent	1 -	none
	2 -	scant	2 -	beige
	3 -	copious	3 -	brown
			4 -	black after 4 hrs
			5 -	black after 24 hrs

TABLE 10
Plant spread, hairs on ligule and leaf sheath glaucosity of Kentucky
bluegrass accessions measured 2002-2003 from the PVP nursery and
greenhouse measurements at the research facility of
Pickseed West, Inc. Oregon.
	Amount of Spread in
Bluegrass	1 year via Rhizomes		Leaf Sheath
Accessions	(cm)	Hairs on Ligule	Glaucosity
‘HB 329’	56	1 - 80%, 2 - 20%	2
HB 129	64	1 - 53% 2 - 47%	2
America	—	—	—
Mercury	49	1	1 - 17%
			2 - 83%
	1 -	absent	1 -	absent
	2 -	short	2 -	present
	3 -	long

The seed of ‘HB 329’ was conditioned by removing most of the extraneous materials that may have been harvested with the seed, such as small pieces of plant stems and leaves, soil particles, seed of other plants and the like. This conditioned seed of ‘HB 329’ averages 3.16 mm in length, and 0.87 mm in width. ‘HB 329’ has about 789,565 seeds per pound.

Comparisons of ‘HB 329’ with ‘HB 129’ and Kentucky bluegrass varieties in terms of seed length, seed width and 1000 seed weight are shown in Table 11 as follows:

TABLE 11
Comparison of seed length, seed width and 1000 count seed weight of
‘HB 329’ and various Kentucky bluegrass varieties and HB 129 hybrid
bluegrass for years 1 & 2.
	Seed Length	Seed Width	1000 Count Seed Weight
	(mm)	(mm)	(g)
Variety	Year 1	Year 1	Year 1	Year 2
‘HB 329’	3.16	0.87	0.633	0.517
HB 129	2.75	0.97	0.657	0.423
Touchdown	3.00	0.92	0.753	0.417
Baron	2.87	0.97	0.690	0.467
Ram I	3.20	0.91	0.647	0.437
Midnight	3.03	0.81	0.637	0.403
Julia	2.82	0.82	0.630	0.507
Langara	2.77	0.80	0.573	0.463
Adelphia	2.90	0.83	0.560	0.340
Moonshadow	2.57	0.87	0.553	0.330
Nugget	3.22	0.90	0.543	0.200
America	2.63	0.83	0.470	0.383
LSD (0.05)	0.4	0.067	0.09	0.074

‘HB 329’ has shown reduced seed cotton on conditioned and unconditioned seed compared to Reveille and greater seed cotton compared to HB 129 (Tables 12 and 13). It is thought that the presence of the cotton on seed has led to poor seed recovery and the availability of Reveille predominantly as a vegetatively reproduced product from rhizome and tiller materials.

TABLE 12

Comparison of ‘HB 329’ to other hybrid bluegrasses for
cotton on conditioned seed.
         Seed cotton rating
Variety  1 - no or little cotton, 2 - scant cotton, 3 - copious cotton

‘HB 329’ 2
HB 129   1
Reveille 3

TABLE 13
Comparison of lemma length (eyepiece assisted), lemma cotton length
(% of lemma length), lemma cotton length calculation and length of the
cotton (eyepiece assisted, 7×) from spikelets harvested (unconditioned
seed) from various bluegrass cultivars grown in a greenhouse under
controlled environment (average 4 florets subsamples-lower whorl
branches) at Gervais, Oregon. Data were collected from three
replicates. ‘HB 329’ showed reduced lemma cotton length (column C)
when compared to Reveille hybrid bluegrass and Texas 51-90 Texas
bluegrass but greater than HB 129.
	Lower	Lemma	Lower Whorl
	Whorl	Cotton	Lemma Cotton
	Lemma	Length	Length	Lower Whorl
	Length	(Visual)	(Lemma	Lemma Cotton
	Eyepiece	% of Lemma	Length × %)	Length
	(7×)	Length	(A) × (B) = C	Eyepiece (7×)
Column	A	B	C	D
Variety	mm	Percent	mm	mm
‘HB 329’	4.8	61.1	2.9	3.1
HB 129	3.9	49.1	1.9	1.8
Texas 51-90	5.7	126.1	7.0	6.8
Reveille	4.4	94.2	4.1	4.1
Ascot	4.1	52.5	2.2	2.2
Geronimo	3.8	50.7	2.0	1.9
LSD	0.8	19.3	0.9	0.7
(P = 0.05)
CV	10.7	15.8	16.2	12.2

‘HB 329’ has performed well throughout the U.S. as exhibited by good turf quality ratings under reduced management inputs in comparison with other Kentucky bluegrass varieties and other Texas×Kentucky bluegrass hybrids. In addition, it has a dark green color with moderate turf density that can be maintained throughout the growing season. ‘HB 329’ shows good fall and winter color compared with most Kentucky bluegrass varieties and HB 129 hybrid bluegrass.

TABLE 14
Comparison of ‘HB 329’ with Texas bluegrass and various Kentucky
bluegrasses and HB 129 hybrid bluegrass.
						Flag
				Flag	Flag	Leaf
	Plant	Longest	Panicle	Leaf	Leaf	Sheath
	Height	Rhizome	Length	Length	Width	Length
Variety	(cm)	(cm)	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)
‘HB 329’	27.3	38.0	63.5	31.2	3.9	53.7
HB 129	41.5	49.0	25.6	25.6	4.0	74.3
Unique	17.3	40.0	34.7	14.2	1.2	48.5
Abbey	37.0	44.0	62.8	21.1	3.5	76.3
Texas	80.0	53.3	126.9	97.2	6.4	146.9
bluegrass
Midnight	21.8	36.6	—	—	—	—
Touchdown	39.8	50.0	27.4	27.4	3.6	66.5
Limousine	29.8	40.8	18.9	18.9	3.2	52.5
LSD (0.05)	14.0	9.8	22.2	15.0	0.5	25.8

‘HB 329’ bluegrass has been shown to provide good downy mildew tolerance, good melting out disease tolerance, dark green genetic color and above average winter color (Table 15). ‘HB 329’ bluegrass has been shown to possess good living ground cover in the summer, medium leaf texture and average spring greenup as compared to other bluegrasses (Table 16).

TABLE 15
Differences between ‘HB 329’ and other Grasses in the 2001, 2002, and
2003 Reports of the National Kentucky Bluegrass Evaluation Program.
(For definition of x and o' see bottom of table.)
	Melting Out	Melting Out	Downy	Winter
	Disease	Disease	Mildew	Color
	Rating	Rating	Rating	Rating
	Locations
	2	PA	WA	4
	Year
Genptype/Cultivar	2001	2003	2003	2003
‘HB 329’
IB7-308			o
99AN-53		o	o	o
A96-427			o	o
A96-451			o	o
A96-739
A96-742	o	o
A97-1330		o	o	o
A97-1409			o	o
A91-1432			o	o
A97-1715				o
A97-857		o
A98-1028	o			o
A98-139		o
A98-183
A98-365			o	o
A98-407			o	o
A98-881	o
Abbey	o
Allure	o		o	o
Alpine	o			o
Apollo			o	o
Arcadia				o
Arrow (A97-1567)			o	o
Ascot			o	o
AVALANCHE		o	o	o
(PST-1701)
Award		o		o
Awesome (J-1420)				o
B3-171			o	o
B3-185			o	o
B4-128A			o	o
B5-144	o	o	o	o
B5-43	o	o	o	o
B5-45	o		o	o
Ba 00-6001			o	o
Ba 82-288
Ba 83-113			o	o
Ba 84-140			o
BAR Pp 0468			o	o
BAR Pp 0471			o	o
BAR Pp 0566
BAR Pp 0573			o	o
Bariris	o			o
Baritone	o			o
Baron				o
Baronette
(Ba 81-058)
Baronle	o		o	o
Barrister (J-1655)	o			o
Bartitia	o			o
Barzan		o		o
Bedazzled			o
Beyond (J-1880)				o
BH 00-6002	o	o	o	o
(HB 129)
Blacksburg II
(PST-1BMY)
Blackstone		o
Blue Knight	o	o	o	o
Blue Ridge			o	o
(A97-1449)
Blue Sapphire
(NA-K991)
Bluemax
(PST-B5-89)
Bluestone		o		o
(PST-731)
Bodacious	o
Boomerang			o	o
Bordeaux			o	o
Boutique			o
Brilliant			o	o
Brooklawn	o	o	o	o
Cabernet		o
Champagne
Champlain			o	o
(A98-1275)
Chateau	o		o	o
Chelsea		o	o	o
Chicago II				o
Coventry	o		o	o
CVB-20631	o			o
DLF 76-9032			o	o
DLF 76-9034		o		o
DLF 76-9036	o			o
DLF 76-9037			o	o
Eagleton	o	o		o
Envicta	o			o
Everest	o			o
EverGlade	o		o	o
Excursion (J-1648)	o		o	o
Fairfax	o		o	o
Freedom II				o
Ginney (J-1368)	o			o
Glenmont
(H94-293)
GO-9LM9	o	o
Goldrush	o			o
Goldstar (A98-296)			o	o
H92-203			o	o
H92-558			o	o
Hallmark	o		o	o
HV 140	o	o	o	o
HV-238
Impact				o
J-1513	o		o	o
J-1838	o		o	o
J-2561	o			o
J-2885
J-2890	o			o
Jefferson			o	o
Jewel	o	o	o	o
Julia	o	o
Julius	o			o
Kenblue	o	o		o
Lakeshore				o
(A93-200)
Langara
Liberator		o		o
Lily	o		o	o
Limerick				o
Limousine			o	o
Mallard (A97-1439)			o	o
Markham	o		o	o
(NA-K991)
Marquis			o	o
Mercury (Pick-232)		o		o
Midnight				o
Midnight II			o	o
(A98-739)
Misty		o	o	o
Monte Carlo				o
(A96-402)
Moon Shadow		o		o
(Pick 113-3)
Moonlight
NA-K992	o	o
North Star	o		o	o
NU Destiny		o		o
(J-2695)
NuGlade			o	o
Odyssey		o
Perfection (J-1515)				o
Pick 417			o	o
Pick 453			o	o
Pp H 6366				o
Pp H 6370	o	o
Pp H 7832
Pp H 7907
Pp H 7929				o
Princeton 105	o		o	o
Pro Seeds - 453				o
PST-108-79	o			o
PST-161		o
PST-1804				o
PST-222			o	o
PST-604			o
PST-B3-170			o	o
PST-B4-246			o	o
PST-B5-125			o	o
PST-H5-35			o	o
PST-H6-150			o	o
PST-York Harbor 4	o		o	o
Quantum Leap	o			o
Rambo			o	o
Raven	o			o
Rita			o
Royale (A97-1336)			o	o
Royce (A98-304)			o	o
Rugby II	o			o
Serene	o	o	o	o
Shamrock
Showcase			o	o
SI A96-386
Sonoma			o	o
SR 2284
(SRX 2284)
SRX 2114			o	o
SRX 2394
SRX 26351				o
SRX 27921				o
SRX QG245	o	o	o	o
Total Eclipse	o			o
Tsunami (J-2487)	o		o	o
Unique			o	o
Unknown				o
Voyager II			o	o
(PST-1QG-27)
Washington	o	o		o
Wellington	o	o
Wildwood	o		o	o
	Winter	Winter	Genetic	Genetic	Genetic
	Color	Color	Color	Color	Color
	Rating	Rating	Rating	Rating	Rating
	Locations
	5	3	24	27	14
	Year
Genptype/Cultivar	2002	2001	2003	2001	2002
‘HB 329’
IB7-308			x	x	x
99AN-53			o	o	o
A96-427				o
A96-451			x		x
A96-739
A96-742		o	o	o	o
A97-1330	o	o	o	o	o
A97-1409	x	x	x		x
A91-1432
A97-1715		o		o	o
A97-857			o	o	o
A98-1028	x		o	o	o
A98-139	x		o	o	o
A98-183
A98-365	o				x
A98-407
A98-881			o	o	o
Abbey		o	o	o	o
Allure	o		o	o	o
Alpine		o	o	o	o
Apollo		o	o	o	o
Arcadia		o	x		x
Arrow (A97-1567)				o
Ascot		o		o
AVALANCHE		o	o	o	o
(PST-1701)
Award		o	x	x	x
Awesome (J-1420)			x		x
B3-171		o	o	o	o
B3-185	o	o	o	o	o
B4-128A		o	o	o	o
B5-144		o	o	o	o
B5-43	o	o	o	o	o
B5-45	o	o	o	o	o
Ba 00-6001	o	o
Ba 82-288	x			o
Ba 83-113	x
Ba 84-140		o	x	x	x
BAR Pp 0468		o	o	o	o
BAR Pp 0471	o	o	o	o	o
BAR Pp 0566			x
BAR Pp 0573				o
Bariris		o	o	o	o
Baritone			o	o	o
Baron	o	o	o	o	o
Baronette		x		o
(Ba 81-058)
Baronle			o	o	o
Barrister (J-1655)			x		x
Bartitia		o	o	o	o
Barzan	x		o	o	o
Bedazzled				o
Beyond (J-1880)			x		x
BH 00-6002	o	o	o	o	o
(HB 129)
Blacksburg II
(PST-1BMY)
Blackstone	x		x
Blue Knight			x
Blue Ridge			x	x	x
(A97-1449)
Blue Sapphire
(NA-K991)
Bluemax			x	x	x
(PST-B5-89)
Bluestone			x		x
(PST-731)
Bodacious		o
Boomerang		o			x
Bordeaux			x		x
Boutique					x
Brilliant	o	o	o	o	o
Brooklawn		o	o	o	o
Cabernet		o	o	o	o
Champagne			o	o	o
Champlain		o		o
(A98-1275)
Chateau		o	o	o	o
Chelsea		o	o	o	o
Chicago II			x	x	x
Coventry	o	o	o	o	o
CVB-20631	o		o	o	o
DLF 76-9032	o	o	o	o	o
DLF 76-9034	o	o	o	o	o
DLF 76-9036		o	o	o	o
DLF 76-9037	o	o	o	o	o
Eagleton		o	o	o	o
Envicta		o	o	o	o
Everest		o	x		x
EverGlade		o	x		x
Excursion (J-1648)			x		x
Fairfax	o	o	o	o	o
Freedom II			x		x
Ginney (J-1368)			x		x
Glenmont				o
(H94-293)
GO-9LM9		o	o	o	o
Goldrush		o	o	o	o
Goldstar (A98-296)				o
H92-203	o	o	o	o	o
H92-558			x	o
Hallmark		o		o
HV 140	o	o	o	o	o
HV-238			o	o	o
Impact			x		x
J-1513		o	x	x	x
J-1838		o	x		x
J-2561			x		x
J-2885			x		x
J-2890			x		x
Jefferson			o	o	o
Jewel	o	o	o	o	o
Julia			o	o	o
Julius		o	o	o	o
Kenblue	o	o	o	o	o
Lakeshore		o	o	o	o
(A93-200)
Langara				o	o
Liberator		o			x
Lily			o	o	o
Limerick	o	o	o	o	o
Limousine		o	o	o	o
Mallard (A97-1439)
Markham	x		o		x
(NA-K991)
Marquis		o	o	o	o
Mercury (Pick-232)	o	o
Midnight			x		x
Midnight II		o	x		x
(A98-739)
Misty	x		o	o	o
Monte Carlo
(A96-402)
Moon Shadow
(Pick 113-3)
Moonlight			o	x	x
NA-K992	o	o	x
North Star		o		o
NU Destiny		o	x		x
(J-2695)
NuGlade		o	x		x
Odyssey		o	x		x
Perfection			x		x
(J-1515)
Pick 417		o	x	o
Pick 453		o		o
Pp H 6366		o	o	o	o
Pp H 6370			o	o	o
Pp H 7832				o	o
Pp H 7907		o		o
Pp H 7929		o	o	o	o
Princeton 105		o		o
Pro Seeds - 453	o	o	o	o
PST-108-79			o	o	o
PST-161				o	o
PST-1804		o	o	o	o
PST-222			x	x	x
PST-1804
PST-83-170				o
PST-84-246		o		o
PST-85-125				o
PST-H5-35				o
PST-H6-150	o	o	o	o	o
PST-York Harbor 4				o
Quantum Leap			x	x	x
Rambo		o	o	o	o
Raven		o	o	o	o
Rita	x			o
Royale (A97-1336)				o	o
Royce (A98-304)	o	o	o	o	o
Rugby II		o	x		x
Serene			o	o	o
Shamrock			o	o	o
Showcase	o	o	o	o	o
SI A96-386				o
Sonoma				o
SR 2284				o
(SRX 2284)
SRX 2114			x	o	x
SRX 2394			x
SRX 26351				o
SRX 27921		o
SRX QG245				o	o
Total Eclipse			x		x
Tsunami (J-2467)		o	x		x
Unique	o	o	o	o	o
Unknown			x		x
Voyager II	o	o	o	o	o
(PST-1QG-27)
Washington		o	o	o	o
Wellington		o	o	o	o
Wildwood				o
o Denotes significanty lesser or poorer performance than (‘HB 329’) based on LSD Values
x Denotes significantly greater or better performance than (‘HB 329’) based on LSD Values
Denotes similiar performance to (‘HB 329’) based on LSD Values

!

TABLE 16
Differences between ‘HB 329’ and other Grasses in the 2001, 2002, and
2003 Reports of the National Kentucky Bluegrass Evaluation Program.
(For definition of x and o' see bottom of table.)
	%	%
	Living	Living			Spring	Spring
	Ground	Ground	Leaf	Leaf	Green	Green
	Cover	Cover	Texture	Texture	Up	Up
	Summer	Summer	Rating	Rating	Rating	Rating
	Locations
	6	3	18	21	21	21
Genotype/	Year
Cultivar	2002	2003	2002	2003	2002	2003
‘HB 329’
IB7-308			x	x		o
99AN-53	o	o		x
A96-427			x		x	x
A96-451	o	o	x		x
A96-739			x	x	x	x
A96-742	o		x	x	x	x
A97-1330			x
A97-1409	o	o	x		x
A97-1432			x	x	x	x
A97-1715			x	x	x	x
A97-857			x			x
A98-1028			x		x	x
A98-139			x	x	x	x
A98-183			x	x
A98-365			x
A98-407	o	o			x
A98-881		o	x	x	x	x
Abbey				x	x
Allure		o
Alpine	o		x		o	o
Apollo			x	x
Arcadia	o		x	x	o	o
Arrow			x		x
(A97-1567)
Ascot			x		o	o
AVALANCHE			x	x	x	x
(PST-1701)
Award			x	x	o	o
Awesome	o		x			o
(J-1420)
B3-171			x
B3-185		x	x	x
B4-128A	o		x	x
B5-144
B5-43					x
B5-45				x
Ba 00-6001	o		x	x		o
Ba 82-288	o		x		x	x
Ba 83-113			x		x	x
Ba 84-140	o	o	x	x
BAR Pp 0468			x	x
BAR Pp 0471			x
BAR Pp 0566	o		x		x	x
BAR Pp 0573			x	x	x
Bariris	o		x	x		x
Baritone			x
Baron		o	x
Baronette			x	x	x	x
(Ba 81-058)
Baronie			x	x	x	x
Barrister			x			o
(J-1655)
Bartitia		o	x
Barzan			x	x	o	o
Bedazzled			x	x	x	x
Beyond			x			o
(J-1880)
BH 00-6002					x	x
(HB 129)
Blacksburg II			x	x	x	x
(PST-1BMY)
Blackstone			x	x	x	x
Blue Knight		o	x			o
Blue Ridge	o	o			x
(A97-1449)
Blue Sapphire				x
(NA-K991)
Bluemax			x	x
(PST-B5-89)
Bluestone			x			o
(PST-731)
Bodacious	o	o	x
Boomerang	o		x	x		o
Bordeaux	o		x	x	x
Boutique			x		x	x
Brilliant			x
Brooklawn			x	x	x	x
Cabernet			x	x		x
Champagne	o		x		x	x
Champlain			x			o
(A98-1275)
Chateau				x
Chelsea	o		x	x		o
Chicago II			x
Coventry	o
CVB-20631	o	o	x	x	o	o
DLF 76-9032			x	x
DLF 76-9034						o
DLF 76-9036		o	x
DLF 76-9037			x	x
Eagleton			x	x		x
Envicta	o	o
Everest	o		x		o	o
EverGlade	o		x	x	o	o
Excursion	o		x	x	o	o
(J-1648)
Fairfax
Freedom II	o		x
Ginney			x	x	o	o
(J-1368)
Glenmont			x	x	x
(H94-293)
GO-9LM9	o	o	x			x
Goldrush			x
Goldstar			x	x	x	x
(A98-296)
H92-203			x	x
H92-558	o		x
Hallmark			x			o
HV 140			x	x
HV-238			x	x		x
Impact	o		x		o	o
J-1513	o		x		o	o
J-1838	o		x	x	o	o
J-2561	o		x	x	o	o
J-2885			x
J-2890			x		o	o
Jefferson	o		x	x	x	x
Jewel			x	x
Julia	o		x			x
Julius	o	o	x
Kenblue			x	x		x
Lakeshore			x	x	x	x
(A92-200)
Langara			x		x	x
Liberator			x
Lily				x
Limerick	o		x	x	o	o
Limousine			x			x
Mallard			x
(A97-1439)
Markham	o			x		o
(NA-K991)
Marquis		o		x
Mercury	o		x
(Pick-232)
Midnight			x		o
Midnight II			x	x	o	o
(A98-739)
Misty				x
Monte Carlo					x
(A96-402)
Moon Shadow			x
(Pick 113-3)
Moonlight				x	x
NA-K992	o		x	x
North Star	o		x		o	o
NU Destiny			x		o	o
(J-2695)
NuGlade			x	x		o
Odyssey	o		x	x	o	o
Perfection	o		x		o	o
(J-1515)
Pick 417	o	o
Pick 453	o		x
Pp H 6366	o	o	x	x
Pp H 6370	o		x		x
Pp H 7832		o	x
Pp H 7907	o	o	x	x
Pp H 7929	o	o	x	x
Princeton 105			x			o
Pro Seeds - 453			x		x
PST-108-79			x	x
PST-161			x	x	x	x
PST-1804			x		x	x
PST-222	o	o
PST-604			x	x	x	x
PST-B3-170			x	x	o	o
PST-B4-246			x			o
PST-B5-125			x
PST-H5-35	o		x	x
PST-H6-150			x	x
PST-York		o	x
Harbor 4
Quantum Leap			x		o	o
Rambo	o		x	x
Raven	o	o		x
Rita			x		x	x
Royale		o	x		x
(A97-1336)
Royce			x	x
(A98-304)
Rugby II			x	x		o
Serene			x
Shamrock			x		x	x
Showcase			x	x
SI A96-386	o	o	x	x
Sonoma	o	o	x		x
SR 2284	o		x		x	x
(SRX 2284)
SRX 2114			x	x		o
SRX 2394	o	o	x	x	x	o
SRX 26351	o	o	x		x
SRX 27921	o	o	x			o
SRX QG245	o	o	x	x	x	x
Total Eclipse			x	x		o
Tsunami	o		x		o	o
(J-2487)
Unique			x
Unknown			x	x	o	o
Voyager II			x	x
(PST-1QG-27)
Washington	o		x		x	x
Wellington			x		x	x
Wildwood			x	x
o Denotes significantly lesser or poorer performance than (‘HB 329’) based on LSD Values
x Denotes significantly greater or better performance than (‘HB 329’) based on LSD Values
Denotes similar or comparable performance to (‘HB 329’) based on LSD Values

With regard to a comparative analysis conducted for purposes of determining color of ‘HB 329’ plants relative to Kentucky bluegrass varieties and a hybrid bluegrass, readings were taken of the vegetative color of ‘HB 329’ on actively growing plants with adequate nutrient and water availability. Color readings showed that ‘HB 329’ leaves had a dark green color and has blue-green coloration. This was dissimilar to HB 129 and most Kentucky bluegrasses with the exception of Langara (Table 17).

TABLE 17
Comparison of ratings for growth habit, leaf color and leaf blade width
for ‘HB 329’ and various Kentucky bluegrass varieties and
HB 129 hybrid bluegrass for year 2.
	Growth	Leaf Color
Variety	Habit	Green	Blue Green	Blade Width
‘HB 329’	2.0	3.6	3.1	2.7
HB 129	2.0	1.0	1.0	4.5
Langara	3.0	3.1	1.9	3.6
Julia	2.1	1.6	1.4	3.2
Adelphia	2.0	2.4	1.8	4.0
Touchdown	1.9	1.0	1.0	4.9
America	1.9	2.8	2.3	3.1
Midnight	1.3	3.1	1.5	2.7
Baron	1.3	1.2	1.4	4.8
Ram I	1.2	2.0	1.0	3.9
Nugget	1.1	2.5	1.7	2.8
LSD (0.05)	0.4201	0.3899	0.5288	0.5025
	1 -	Pros-	1 -	Light	1 -	Not Blue	1 -	Very
		trate		Green		Green		Fine
	2 -	Semi-	2 -	Medium	2 -	Mod Blue	2 -	Fine
		Pros-		Green		Green	3 -	Medium
		trate	3 -	Mod Dark	3 -	Blue-	4 -	Broad
	3 -	Erect		Green		Green	5 -	Very
			4 -	Very Dark	4 -	Strong		Broad
				Green		Blue-
						Green

Further comparative testing of ‘HB 329’ plants relative to Kentucky bluegrass, Texas bluegrass and hybrid varieties was conducted and the results of this testing are set forth in the following Tables 18 and 19:

TABLE 18
Comparison of morphological traits of flowering tillers of plants
allowed to over winter in the field and brought into a controlled
greenhouse environment (60-75° F.) in late winter and allowed to
grow undisturbed during the winter of 2004-2005 at
The Scotts Company facility at Gervais, Oregon.
		Flag Leaf
	Flag Leaf	Ligule Hairs	Flag Leaf	Anthesis
	Ligule	0 = none	Thickness	(days to
Variety	Length (mm)	9 = Many	(mm)	flowering)
‘HB 329’	2.3	3.2	0.0182	145
HB 129	1.3	5.8	0.0149	138
Reveille	2.3	0.9	0.0207	141
Geronimo	1.7	7.1	0.0164	140
Ascot	2.0	5.6	0.0166	141
Midnight	0.8	3.9	0.0145	148
Buckingham	2.4	8.1	0.0190	142
Texas Bluegrass	1.7	0.1	0.0262	140
(TX 51-90)
Texas Bluegrass	2.7	0.1	0.0199
(TX 39-88)
Texas Bluegrass	2.0	0.5	0.0231	140
(TX 49-90)
Kelly	2.1	6.3	0.0163	143
LSD (P = .05)	0.663	1.93	0.003324	4.854

‘HB 329’ has a similar flag leaf ligule, more hairs on the flag leaf ligule and a thinner flag leaf than Reveille hybrid bluegrass. ‘HB 329’ has a longer flag leaf ligule, fewer hairs on the flag leaf ligule and a thicker flag leaf than HB129 hybrid bluegrass (Table 18).

‘HB 329’ has a shorter spikelet length and fewer florets/spikelets on both the first whorl and third whorl than HB 129 hybrid bluegrass and is similar to Reveille hybrid bluegrass in these traits (Table 17). ‘HB 329’ has longer glumes than HB 129 and Reveille hybrid bluegrass. ‘HB 329’ is shorter than Reveille and HB 129 hybrid bluegrasses (Table 19).

TABLE 19
Comparison of morphological traits of plant inflorescence - spikelets,
florets, glumes - from panicles havested from a field nursery and plant
height in 2005 at The Scotts Company facility at Gervais, Oregon.
	Spikelet	Spikelet	Spikelet	Spikelet
	Length	Length	Width	Width
	1stWhorl	3rdWhorl	1stWhorl	3rdWhorl
Variety	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)	(mm)
‘HB 329’	6.2	6.5	4.3	3.8
HB 129	7.6	7.1	4.5	4.0
Reveille	6.1	6.4	4.0	4.2
Geronimo	5.5	6.3	4.2	4.0
Ascot	5.6	5.8	4.4	4.3
Midnight	5.7	6.4	2.7	3.2
Buckingham	6.9	6.9	4.6	4.7
Texas Bluegrass	7.6	7.5	7.3	7.1
TX 51-90
Texas Bluegrass	8.6	8.5	5.9	5.7
TX 39-88
Texas Bluegrass	9.7	9.7	8.2	8.0
TX 49-90
Kelly	6.3	6.1	4.4	4.3
LSD (P = .05)	1.679	1.738	1.875	1.621
			Lower	Lower
	Florets/	Florets/	Glume	Glume
	Spikelet	Spikelet	Length	Length
	1stWhorl	3rdWhorl	1stWhorl	3rdWhorl
Variety	(Count)	(Count)	(mm)	(mm)
‘HB 329’	4.6	5.0	3.7	3.6
HB 129	8.6	7.0	3.1	3.2
Reveille	4.0	4.9	2.9	3.3
Geronimo	5.2	6.0	2.7	3.0
Ascot	3.8	4.3	2.9	2.9
Midnight	4.3	5.8	2.7	2.6
Buckingham	6.7	7.1	3.1	3.0
Texas Bluegrass	8.8	8.5	3.6	3.3
TX 51-90
Texas Bluegrass	8.0	7.9	3.6	3.6
TX 39-88
Texas Bluegrass	8.7	8.6	5.4	5.0
TX 49-90
Kelly	4.3	4.9	2.8	2.9
LSD (P = .05)	1.69	1.81	0.853	0.682
		Upper	Upper
		Glume	Glume
		Length	Length	Plant
		1stWhorl	3rdWhorl	Height
	Variety	(mm)	(mm)	(cm)
	‘HB 329’	3.6	3.7	35.8
	HB 129	3.5	3.3	58.3
	Reveille	3.3	3.5	51.6
	Geronimo	2.9	3.1	56.9
	Ascot	3.1	3.1	38.2
	Midnight	3.1	3.2	29.7
	Buckingham	3.4	3.4	48.2
	Texas Bluegrass	4.2	4.2	48.1
	TX 51-90
	Texas Bluegrass	4.0	4.2	60.4
	TX 39-88
	Texas Bluegrass	6.0	5.4	56.2
	TX 49-90
	Kelly	3.0	3.0	38.0
	LSD (P = .05)	0.951	0.803	8.807

Claims

1. A new and distinct hybrid variety of (Texas bluegrass×Kentucky bluegrass)×Kentucky bluegrass plant, as herein illustrated and described and characterized by a moderately rapid establishment; a dark green, moderately dense turf; a wide leaf blade; moderately aggressive rhizome growth; a moderate level of cotton on the seed; and a low to medium-low seed yield potential.