sign up log in
Want to go ad-free? Find out how, here.

Ryegrass research looks at sugar stores

Rural News
Ryegrass research looks at sugar stores

Blue-sky ryegrass research should help tell where ryegrass plants store their sugars, and that could give breeders more knowledge about how to breed a more productive plant reports The Manawatu Standard. Arif Robin, a plant science PhD student at Massey University's Institute of Natural Resources, is using brewery-sourced "light" carbon dioxide and feeding that to plants, through plastic bags surrounding the test plants. They are being grown hydroponically in one of Massey's Plant Growth Unit glasshouses. It is to better understand the physiology of ryegrass, which is one of the major pasture plants. Associate Professor Cory Matthew is overseeing the research. "Light" carbon acts as a marker for where photosynthesis products from a particular leaf, or branch shoot are distributed within the plant. "It means we know exactly what leaf or shoot is responsible for feeding a particular part of the plant," Prof Matthew said. The idea is to use the light gas to trace sugars in the plant parts. "What these 2-month-old ryegrass plants have is a main shoot and a branch shoot, and we're interested to what extent the branch shoots are helping the main shoot along in depositing sugars," Prof Matthew said. They believe the lower branch shoots may be helping the parent leaves with root feeding, but the research will reveal that. Each plant will be chopped up, and tested at a laboratory in Munich, Germany, where the university involved is doing similar research work and is keen to collaborate on sample analysis.

We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.

Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.