1. Persist is a twelve clone synthetic variety. Parent plants were out of forage yield plots and/or disease nurseries. The parent plants were progeny tested for one or more of the following traits: Forage yield, stand persistence, forage quality, seed yield resistance to bacterial wilt, Fusarium wilt, Phytophthora root rot, anthracnose, Verticillium wilt, Aphanomyces, spotted alfalfa aphid, and pea aphid. Parent plants trace back through several intermediate steps to: MNP--B1(Syn.2), Tewels Multistrain, and Dairyland experimentals. Dairyland experimentals trace back to Vernal and Ranger. The percent of germplasm sources are M. falcata (2), Ladak (18), Turkistan (4), Flemish (70), and Chilean (6).
2. Persist is adapted to the North Central United States and is intended for use in the Northern half of the United States for hay, haylage, greenchop and dehydration. The states where it has been tested are Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois.
3. Persist is moderately dormant and similar to the variety Saranac. Flower color in the Syn. 2 generation is 80% purple, 20% variegated, with trace amounts of cream, yellow, and white.
4. Persist has high resistance to bacterial wilt, Fusarium wilt, Phytophthora root rot, resistance to anthracnose (Race 1), Verticillium wilt, spotted alfalfa aphid, pea aphid and moderate resistance to Aphanomyces (Race 1), stem nematode, and blue alfalfa aphid.
5. Breeder seed has been produced from cuttings of the parental plants in an isolation block as Syn. 1. Seed lots will be kept separate. Foundation seed (Syn. 2) will be produced from Breeder seed and Certified seed (Syn. 2 or 3) from either Breeder or Foundation seed. One generation each of Breeder and Foundation and two generations of Certified seed (Syn. 2 or 3) classes are recognized. A maximum of three years each is permitted on stands producing Breeder and Foundation seed with five years for Certified seed. Sufficient Foundation seed for the projected life of the variety will be maintained by Dairyland Research.
6. Certified seed will be available spring of 1993.
7. Application for the Plant Variety Protection is undecided.
8. As a means of additional varietal protection, information included
with this application may be provided to the PVP office.