Good-quality forage cultivars from Lolium are not sufficiently resistant to environmental conditions in less favoured areas, contrary to Festuca winter hardy, drought tolerant and persistent species. Hybridization between Lolium and Festuca takes place with relatively ease, their chromosomes pair, and recombine freely in their hybrids and derivatives. However hybrids found in nature are usually sterile therefore breeding procedures are applied to restore partially or completely their fertility. They can be next utilized in introgression backcross breeding programmes to improve Lolium species abiotic stress resistance, which allow to transfer of limited number of Festuca genes to the single Lolium genotype. To identify Festuca chromosome segments in recipient Lolium species and determine their chromosome location genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) is used. Furthermore AFLP method can be utilized, what additionally leads to generation of genomic markers linked with selected agronomic traits.

This studies demonstrate application of two different introgression breeding programmes where hybrids between Lolium and Festuca were used to obtain Lolium forms with enhanced winter stress resistance. The pentaploid F₁ hybrids F. arundinacea (2n = 6x = 42) × L. multiflorum (2n = 2x = 14) was backcrossed into diploid L. multiflorum cv. Tur. L. multiflorum genotypes with single Festuca chromosome segments were used to obtain two diploid populations, representing BC₃ and BC₄ generations, containing more freezing resistant plants. In the second programme partially fertile triploid hybrids were obtained by crossing F. pratensis (2x) and L. perenne (4x). F₁ plants used as male parent were backcrossed to diploid L. perenne. Genomic structure of BC₁ genotypes was defined by GISH and their winter hardy were scored. Genotypes obtained from both breeding procedures having improved stress tolerance comparing with their parental forms were analysed through AFLP technique. Using different primer combinations it was possible to detect introgressions linked with freezing resistance and winter hardy, which can be used as selective markers.

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