Annual vs. perennial grain production

Pimentel, David; Cerasale, David J.; Stanley, Rose C.; Perlman, Rachel L.; Newman, Elise M.; Brent, Lincoln C.; Mullan, Amanda; Chang, Debbie Tai-I

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2012.05.025

Cited by 146 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…The benefits of perennial grains for reducing nitrate leaching, enhancing the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes, sequestering carbon, reducing erosion, reducing labor and input costs and improving resilience to climate change have all been proposed, and some of these benefits have been demonstrated on the field scale (Glover et al, 2010;Jaikumar et al, 2012;Pimentel et al, 2012;Culman et al, 2013). However, the focus of efforts to develop a new perennial growth form of wheat has privileged grain yield, and to a lesser extent grain quality (Cox et al, 2006;Murphy et al, 2009Murphy et al, , 2010Jaikumar et al, 2012;Hayes et al, 2012), over the potential environmental benefits these crops would provide both on-farm and across the landscape.…”

Section: Perennial Grainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding perennial wheat adoption as a transformative technology: evidence from the literature and farmers

Adebiyi

Olabisi

Snapp

2015

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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Perennial grain crops are an example of a 'transformative technology,' in which the functionality and science of the technology differ in a fundamental manner from conventional grain crops. A review of the literature indicates that the motivation for farmer adoption of transformative technologies is complex and poorly understood. At the same time, many studies have found concern and awareness about environmental issues to be significantly and positively correlated with the adoption of no-till agriculture, organic farming and agroforestry. Building on these insights, we conducted an ex ante study of perennial wheat adoption among 11 farmers from Michigan and Ohio. Perennial wheat is not yet commercially available, so a semi-structured interview format was chosen to allow for in-depth discussions of the crop's potential characteristics and uses. Consistent with the literature on transformative technology adoption, farmers who approached us to learn more about perennial grains described soil and environmental quality as their primary motivations for doing so. Farmers suggested a total of ten different uses for perennial wheat, only one of which was mentioned specifically by interviewers. This diversity of proposed uses implied a wide range of criteria for adoption. A striking result was that the ability of perennial wheat to compete with annual wheat on the basis of yield, a focus of researchers, was brought up by only one of the interviewees, as many farmers proposed perennial wheat as a means of solving a problem for which no other crop provided an adequate solution, often by planting perennial wheat on an under-used or marginal area of the farm. This is suggestive that interacting with farmers could alter priorities in perennial grain improvement, as has occurred in other radically transformative agriculture technologies.

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Section: Perennial Grainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding perennial wheat adoption as a transformative technology: evidence from the literature and farmers

Adebiyi

Olabisi

Snapp

2015

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

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“…Continued breeding efforts are expected to narrow these gaps. Lower yields may also be offset economically by reduced input costs, as fertilizer and pesticide requirements are expected to be lower due to better resource use efficiency and pest resistance (Pimentel et al 2012). Perennial wheat may only need to yield 65% of annual wheat to make it economically feasible, or only 40% of annual wheat if perennial wheat could produce both forage for livestock and grain (Bell et al 2008).…”

Section: Perennial Crops In Rotationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), rice (Oryza spp. ), rye, maize, and others (Pimentel et al 2012). Recent evaluations of perennial cereal lines in Australia and the United States indicate that progress has been made in developing cereals with both a perennial habit and adequate seed production (Hayes et al 2012;Jaikumar et al 2012).…”

Section: Perennial Crops In Rotationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Perennial grains have the potential to be high yielding and economically viable, since they use resources more efficiently and may be grown on land that is less suited to annual cropping (Glover et al 2010). They also have considerable potential to address many of the environmental concerns associated with annual agriculture by reducing tillage, offering continual soil cover, enhancing soil health, increasing nutrient and water use efficiency, reducing GHG emissions, and providing wildlife habitat (Pimentel et al 2012).…”

Section: Perennial Crops In Rotationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers at the Land Institute in Kansas have been working at developing perennial grain crops for many years and others around the world have joined the effort (Glover et al 2010;Pimentel et al 2012;Batello et al 2014). So far, the main crop of focus has been wheat, with efforts also being devoted to sorghum (Sorghum spp.…”

Section: Perennial Crops In Rotationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Review: Redesigning Canadian prairie cropping systems for profitability, sustainability, and resilience

2015

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Thiessen Martens, J. R., Entz, M. H. and Wonneck, M. D. 2015. Review: Redesigning Canadian prairie cropping systems for profitability, sustainability, and resilience. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 1049Á1072. Redesign of agricultural systems according to ecological principles has been proposed for the development of sustainable systems. We review a wide variety of ecologically based crop production practices, including crop varieties and genetic diversity, crop selection and rotation, cover crops, annual polyculture, perennial forages, perennial grains, agroforestry systems, reducing tillage, use of animal manures and green manures, soil biological fertility, organic production systems, integrated cropÁlivestock systems, and purposeful design of farm landscapes (farmscaping), and discuss their potential role in enhancing the profitability, environmental sustainability, and resilience of Canadian prairie cropping systems. Farming systems that most closely mimic natural systems through appropriate integration of diverse components, within a context of supportive social and economic structures, appear to offer the greatest potential benefits, while creating a framework in which to place all other farming practices. Our understanding of ecological relationships within agricultural systems is currently lacking, and a major shift in research, education, and policy will be required to purposefully and proactively redesign Canadian prairie agricultural systems for long-term sustainability.

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