In the interest of diversifying the global food system, improving human nutrition, and making agriculture more sustainable, there have been many proposals to domesticate wild plants or complete the domestication of semidomesticated orphan crops. However, very few new crops have recently been fully domesticated. Many wild plants have traits limiting their production or consumption that could be costly and slow to change. Others may have fortuitous preadaptations that make them easier to develop or feasible as high‐value, albeit low‐yielding, crops. To increase success in contemporary domestication of new crops, we propose a pipeline approach, with attrition expected as species advance through the pipeline. We list criteria for ranking domestication candidates to help enrich the starting pool with more preadapted, promising species. We also discuss strategies for prioritizing initial research efforts once the candidates have been selected: developing higher value products and services from the crop, increasing yield potential, and focusing on overcoming undesirable traits. Finally, we present new‐crop case studies that demonstrate that wild species’ limitations and potential (in agronomic culture, shattering, seed size, harvest, cleaning, hybridization, etc.) are often only revealed during the early phases of domestication. When nearly insurmountable barriers were reached in some species, they have been (at least temporarily) eliminated from the pipeline. Conversely, a few species have moved quickly through the pipeline as hurdles, such as low seed weight or low seed number per head, were rapidly overcome, leading to increased confidence, farmer collaboration, and program expansion.

Abstract:The development of new perennial crop species is gaining momentum as a promising approach to change the fundamental nature of ecosystem processes in agriculture. The ecological argument for perennial crops grown in polycultures is strong, but until recently, perennial herbaceous grain crops have been absent from agricultural landscape. This is not because perennial herbaceous species do not exist in nature-there are thousands of perennial grasses, legumes, and other broad leaf plants. Rather, for a variety of reasons, early farmers focused on cultivating and domesticating annuals, and the perennial herbs were largely ignored. Today, we have a tremendous opportunity to explore another agricultural path. Building on contemporary knowledge of plant biology and genetics that early farmers lacked, and using a rapidly expanding toolbox that includes sophisticated genomic and analytical approaches, we can develop viable perennial grain crops. These crops can then be used to assemble diverse agroecosystems that regenerate soils and capture other important ecosystem functions.

with less N and watering (National Turfgrass Evaluation Program, 1998a,b,c). A range of native grass species evolved under the environmental Native grasses of the northern Great Plains may be extremes of a continental climate in the northern Great Plains, but good candidates for low maintenance or xeriscape turf most have not been evaluated for their suitability as turf. The objective (Holzworth, 1990). These species have evolved under of this research was to evaluate the turfgrass potential of a range of native grasses under three mowing heights. Twelve species (a total the environmental extremes of a continental climate, of 28 entries) were evaluated under three mowing heights (62, 38, but most have not been evaluated for their suitability and 18 mm), for turf quality, color, and density at two locations in as managed turf. A number of publications mention Manitoba, Canada. The species evaluated included alpine bluegrass 2018

Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) is used for fairway and putting green turf. Seeding takes place in late spring or early fall in Atlantic Canada. The objectives were to (i) study the effect of day length on early plant growth and development and (ii) compare plant development in high and low tillering germplasms. Individual pre‐germinated seeds of ‘Emerald’ and ‘UM67‐10’ were transplanted into 10‐cm pots containing an 80:20 sand/peat media. Two greenhouse (GH) studies of ≥108 pots per gennplasm and two growth cabinet (GC) studies, with 16 hr and 8 hr photoperiods, and 20/15°C day/night temperatures with ≥15 pots per germplasm per run were conducted. Leaves per plant, tillers per plant, senesced leaves per plant, stolons per plant, and total leaves per plant were measured at 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 d after transplanting (DAT). Stolon characters and dry weight per plant were measured at 35 DAT. Phenological development was monitored daily in the GC. Dry matter and tiller production were greater under LD. Stolon development was delayed under SD. Germplasm source influenced tillers per plant at 35DAT and stolons per plant under LD. Order of tiller appearance was predictable. Plants producing high tiller numbers generally completed a branching unit (BU) prior to growth in the next BU. High order tillers (1° and 2°) within a BU appeared prior lower order tillers. Planting under longday conditions is advantageous for growth of creeping bentgrass with the production of greater stolon mass allowing for a more durable turf.

Development of perennial grains is being promoted to aid in moving agriculture towards sustainable production. How long does it take to identify perennial yielding ability? Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) nurseries were transplanted in 2011 (4,500 plants) and 2012 (1,000 plants) at Carman, Manitoba. Productive, healthy plants were harvested on a yearly basis. Intolerance to late frosts after spring regrowth initiation in 2012 (approximately 55% of the plants) and in 2014 (the entire 2012 nursery) led to these plants not being harvested. Mean yield plant-1 was 37.25, 66.70 and 57.81 g for the 2102, 2013 and 2014 overall harvests, respectively. Individual plants showed divergent seed yielding patterns across years, especially with respect to the third harvest year. A number of plants were identified that had consistent relative seed yields over the three years of harvest for the 2011 nursery. Linear regression indicated that the first year of seed production was a poor indicator of relative yield potential over all three years (R 2 = 0.238) amongst the highest overall yielding plants, with 2013 and 2014 having greater predictability. Variability in yield in the third reproductive year indicated that the third year is required to identify highly productive individuals for three consecutive seed harvests.

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Intermediate wheatgrass yielded 519 and 446 kg seed ha−1 in years one and two after establishment. Autumn grazing increased seed yield compared with post-harvest residue removal or chopping. Inter-seeding legumes (alfalfa (Medicago sativa), sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis), and white clover (Trifolium repens) did not affect intermediate wheatgrass seed production.

A network of 21 experiments was established across nine countries on four continents and spanning both hemispheres, to evaluate the relative performance of early generation perennial cereal material derived from wheat, rye, and barley and to inform future breeding strategies. The experimental lines were grown in replicated single rows, and first year production and phenology characteristics as well as yield and persistence for up to three years were monitored. The study showed that the existing experimental material is all relatively short-lived (≤3 years), with environments that are milder in summer and winter generally conferring greater longevity. No pedigree was superior across this diverse network of sites although better performing lines at the higher latitude sites were generally derived from Thinopyrum intermedium. By contrast, at lower latitudes the superior lines were generally derived from Th. ponticum and Th. elongatum parentage. The study observed a poor relationship between year 1 performance and productivity in later years, highlighting the need for perennial cereal material with greater longevity to underpin future experimental evaluation, and the importance for breeding programs to emphasize post-year 1 performance in their selections. Hybrid lines derived from the tetraploid durum wheat generally showed greater longevity than derivatives of hexaploid wheat, highlighting potential for greater use of Triticum turgidum in perennial wheat breeding. We advocate a model in future breeding initiatives that develops perennial cereal genotypes for specific target environments rather than a generic product for one global market. These products may include a diversity of cultivars derived from locally adapted annual and perennial parents. In this scenario the breeding program may have access to only a limited range of adapted perennial grass parents. In other situations, such as at very high latitude environments, perennial crops derived from barley or rye may have a better chance of success than those derived from wheat. In either case, development and selection of the perennial parent for adaptation to local environments would seem fundamental to success.