ABSTRACT
Wheatgrass and wildrye grasses are valued throughout the temperate regions of the world as forage and habitat for livestock and wildlife as well as for other qualities relating to aesthetics, soil stabilization, weed control, and watershed management in semiarid environments (Asay and Jensen 1996a, 1996b). These perennial grasses are members of the Triticeae tribe, which also includes the cultivated cereal crops including wheat (Triticum spp.), barley (Hordeum spp.), and rye (Secale cereale L.); they are often hybridized and used as genetic sources for disease resistance, salinity tolerance, and other traits.
