Differentiation in competitive ability and cold tolerance between diploid and tetraploid cultivars in Lolium perenne

In a diploid grass, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), many autotetraploid cultivars have been released and widely used in many cool temperate countries. In this study, competitive ability and cold tolerance, which seem to be important factors in determining geographical distribution and persistency of this species, were compared between six diploid and five autotetraploid cultivars. The tetraploid cultivars had significantly higher competitive ability and lower cold tolerance than the diploid cultivars. Furthermore, there was no overlap in the two traits between them. These results suggest that chromosome doubling has a larger effect on competitive ability and cold tolerance than does the genetic difference between the populations within a single ploidy level.