Registration of Varieties of other Grasses 1 Volga Giant Wildrye (Reg. No. 9)

'VOLGA' giant wildrye grass, Elymus giganteus VahL, was developed for vegetative control of inland sand dunes in the Pacific Northwest. Grasses used for coastal dune control are not climatically adapted to rigorous inland conditions, particularly drought and temperature extremes. P.I. 108,491, from which Volga developed, was one of the Westover-Enlow 1934 expedition introductions from the Lower Volga River region of the USSR. Volga was propagated and tested at Pullman, Washington, as P-208 along with 6 other introductions of the species. Three of the best strains and related native and introduced sand-stilling species were planted vegetatively in randomized replicated blocks in the fall of 1939 on an active inland sand dune not far from the Dryland Agricultural Experiment Station at Lind, Wash. Table 1 gives the comparative performance of the better grasses included in that planting. The name Volga was assigned in 1947, and the results of the comparative study were published (5) . Although most of the strains and species have died out, Volga has increased and in 15 years has covered an area several acres in size and is effective in stilling the sand. In the spring of 1948 culms of Volga and one other selection were made available to the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation for increase. Culms were harvested, cleaned, and replanted. In the following years the technical aspects of culture, harvesting, planting, and mechanical handling were worked out. Further use and observation showed Volga to be superior to other strains. Volga wildrye plants are tall and have sparse, stout, erect culms to 40 inches; numerous, coarse, %-inch wide, pale green, stiff,