Discussion: Prioritize perennial grain development for sustainable food production and environmental benefits

DeHaan, Lee R.; Anderson, James A.; Bajgain, Prabin; Basche, Andrea; Cattani, Douglas J.; Crain, Jared; Crews, Timothy E.; David, Christophe; Duchêne, Olivier; Gutknecht, Jessica; Hayes, Richard; Hu, Fengyi; Jungers, Jacob M.; Knudsen, Søren; Kong, Wenqian; Larson, Steve; Lundquist, Per-Olof; Luo, Guangbin; Miller, Allison J.; Nabukalu, Pheonah; Newell, Matthew T.; Olsson, Lennart; Palmgren, Michael G.; Paterson, Andrew H.; Picasso, Valentín; Poland, Jesse; Sacks, Erik J.; Wang, Shuwen; Westerbergh, Anna

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164975

Cited by 14 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Crop age and soil type did not appear to impede GYLD through three production years, and the growth environment had a major role. However, GYLD is a limitation to the uptake of IWG as a perennial grain [55], and breeding this species is in its infancy [2,56] compared to its annual counterparts. As such, lower yields would need to demand a higher commodity price to be financially viable for producers.…”

Section: Other Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grain Yield Potential of Intermediate Wheatgrass in Western Canada

LeHeiget,

McGeough,

Biligetu

et al. 2023

Agriculture

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Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium; IWG) is a temperate perennial grass capable of performing in dual-purpose perennial grain cropping systems. It is valued for its ecosystem services and forage yield and quality that can be utilized in many livestock systems. Development for potential perennial grain yield has been the focus of breeding programs for more than two decades, and agronomic management is becoming important, as commercialization of the crop has occurred. This research focused on nitrogen management and intercropping on grain yield and yield components in western Canada. Treatments consisting of a non-fertilized control, an interseeded crop with IWG/Trifolium hybridum, and a fertilized treatment (50 kg N ha−1) were investigated at four locations. Drought conditions were experienced in some years, resulting in the loss of the interseeded crop at three locations. Fertilization with nitrogen increased grain yield in harvest years two and three and influenced yield components in at least one instance across locations. Third-year grain harvests were higher or equal to year one yield at the two locations harvested, with applied N increasing yield on average by 200 kg ha−1 in year three. Inflorescence density is an important yield component after the first production year. The potential for consistent grain yields across three reproductive years was demonstrated, enhancing the potential for sustained productivity.

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Section: Other Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grain Yield Potential of Intermediate Wheatgrass in Western Canada

LeHeiget,

McGeough,

Biligetu

et al. 2023

Agriculture

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“…In swards, among the important peculiarities of perennial grasses compared to annual cereals, we can identify i) a highly variable and often low proportion of fertile tillers with aging plants, resulting in grain yield decrease over years (Fulkerson, 1980;Jungers et al, 2017), ii) the marked influence of the period of appearance of tiller cohorts and the order of emergence of the tillers on their reproductive potential (Rouet et al, 2021), iii) an increased variability in floret site utilization (Elgersma, 1985;Altendorf et al, 2021) and iv) the potential competition between several sink organs at the end of the growing season (i.e., grains, rhizomes, bulbs, stolons or dormant buds) (Hay & Porter, 2006;Durand & Lafarge, 2011). These characteristics have fueled intense theoretical discussion as to whether physiological trade-offs between plant longevity and seed production can effectively be overcome through new agroecosystem design and modern breeding techniques (see for example DeHaan et al (2023)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maintaining grain yield of Th. intermedium across stand age through constant spike fertility and spike density: Understanding its response to various agronomic managements

Fagnant,

Duchene,

Celette

et al. 2024

European Journal of Agronomy

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“…This is the only known perennial grass species in the whole world that can serve two purposes: forage for livestock and grains for humans (Coyne, 2022). Since it is a perennial grain species, annual replanting is not required, resulting in reduced soil disturbance and erosion (DeHaan et al., 2023). Continuous living cover, greater C uptake (Duchene et al., 2019), improved soils, and no disturbance can create favorable conditions for soil communities and crop growth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short‐term effects of Kernza and alfalfa on microbial communities

Udawatta,

Gurmessa,

Gonzalez

et al. 2024

Agrosystems Geosci & Env

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Continuous land disturbance could negatively impact microbial community, but perennial crops can potentially reverse this negativity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of Kernza (Thinopyrum intermedium) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) on soil microbial structure and stress condition using the phospholipid fatty acid profiling. The study was conducted at the Ross Jones Research Farm, University of Missouri and consisted of four treatments: Kernza fertilized, Kernza unfertilized, Kernza and alfalfa intercrop, and alfalfa monocrop with four replications. Treatments were established in September 2021 on 18.3 m × 18.3 m plots. Soils from 0‐ to 5‐cm and 5‐ to 15‐cm depths were sampled in September 2021 (before treatments were placed) and 2022 and analyzed for microbial communities. All microbial communities increased after 1 year with the perennial crops. Since differences were not significant among treatments in 2022, this may lead to positive impacts of perennial crops on microbial communities, irrespective of the crop species and management. Moreover, community structure modifications were also observed with the perennial crops, irrespective of the species and management, as evidenced with changes in bacterial community indices in 2022. While fungi/bacteria ratio increased, Gram‐positive/Gram‐negative bacteria ratio decreased in 2022, suggesting a reduction in microbial stress, which can be attributed to ecological functions of the perennial crops. The study showed improvements in soil microbial biomass and modifications in microbial community structure after 1 year of Kernza and alfalfa. As the system matures, relative benefits of management (fertilization and intercropping) and plant species may be realized.

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Discussion: Prioritize perennial grain development for sustainable food production and environmental benefits

Cited by 14 publications

References 71 publications

Grain Yield Potential of Intermediate Wheatgrass in Western Canada

Grain Yield Potential of Intermediate Wheatgrass in Western Canada

Maintaining grain yield of Th. intermedium across stand age through constant spike fertility and spike density: Understanding its response to various agronomic managements

Short‐term effects of Kernza and alfalfa on microbial communities

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