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Manipulating Those Genes |
A seed company representative showed up one day promoting Denver Kentucky bluegrass. He claimed that, compared to other Kentucky bluegrasses, 'Denver' is uniquely tolerant of highly alkaline soil conditions. Developed at Colorado State University, Denver has performed very well in regional tests for several years. He recommended that you use Denver for all of the intermediate roughs on the new nine-hole course scheduled for planting this fall. After listening to him and examining the tables of data from the regional tests, you asked: "How was Denver developed?" "Was it a selection or the result of a hybridization program?" "If an intraspecific hybrid, what was its parentage?" He responded with a shrug and continued his sales pitch on Denver's comparative advantages over other commercial cultivars.
As you reflect on this meeting, consider the following questions: