Beetle is a native western US grass which has potential in turf situations. Ecotypes display good color and high shoot density, with minimal water, yet grow in saline conditions. Several elite lines at Colorado State University and University of Arizona have been selected with outstanding potential. However, the factor limiting their introduction is poor seed production. Initial efforts in determination of the biological basis for this has focused on cytological examination of chromosomes.
Preliminary results indicate that there is varying chromosome number among lines examined.
Since chromosomes are small it is difficult to get precise counts but our observations indicate that there are likely differences in ploidy levels. Attempts at crossing lines with differing chromosome numbers would give few if any seed. Therefore, a determination of which lines have similar chromosome number may facilitate crossing and hopefully seed set.