Metabolome fingerprinting reveals the presence of multiple nitrification inhibitors in biomass and root exudates of Thinopyrum intermedium
Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient and is also linked to socioecological issues resulting from nitrogen-based fertilizer runoff from agricultural land to natural bodies of water and drinking water sources….
Selection for agronomic traits in intermediate wheatgrass increases responsiveness to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
A collaborative research paper between The Land Institute’s Lee DeHaan, Tim Crews, and colleagues at the Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research showed that Kernza breeding at The…
Perennial crops shape the soil microbial community and increase the soil carbon in the upper soil layer
Collaborators at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) released a paper that compares the impacts of perennial vs. annual crop growth on the diversity of soil microbes and accumulation…
Forage boost or grain blues? Legume choices shape Kernza intermediate wheatgrass dual-purpose crop performance
Research collaborators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted a study to understand how intercropping legumes like alfalfa and clover impact the grain and forage yields of Kernza compared to monoculture…
Effects of landscape position on perennial biomass and food crop performance in buffer areas
Colleagues at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics researched the impact of landscape position on perennial crop productivity, particularly as it pertains to soil nutrients and…
Soil Microbial Community Structures under Annual and Perennial Crops Treated with Different Nitrogen Fertilization Rates
Researchers from the USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS) in Sidney, Montana investigated the fertilization rates of nitrogen, a key plant nutrient often provided by synthetic fertilizers, in perennial crops (including…
Nematode community structure suggests perennial grain cropping cultivation as a nature-based solution for resilient agriculture
Researchers in Germany looked at the influence of intermediate wheatgrass, the plant that produces Kernza® perennial grain, on nematode populations and community structure, using these microorganisms as an indicator of…
Short-term effects of Kernza and alfalfa on microbial communities
Legumes have been extensively studied for their ability to increase soil fertility, which has prompted both scientists and farmers to plant them in companion with other crops in a configuration…
Prioritize perennial grain development for sustainable food production and environmental benefits
Lee DeHaan, Lead Scientist for the Kernza Domestication Program at The Land Institute, and three other Lead Scientists at the organization collaborated with 28 global research partners working with perennial…
Assessing effective mechanical and chemical strategies for managing Eucosma giganteana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in the perennial oilseed crop, Silphium integrifolium (Asteraceae: Heliantheae)
The Land Institute’s Crop Protection Ecology and Perennial Oilseeds teams published a paper assessing the most functional methods for managing Eucosma moth (Eucosma giganteana), a pest that specializes in and commonly…
Perennial intermediate wheatgrass accumulates more soil organic carbon than winter wheat – a model assessment
Perennial plants are known to add more biomass to soils when compared to annual plants, as evidenced by the rate of carbon accumulation in grassland ecosystems, but less research has…
Photosynthetic capacity, canopy size and rooting depth mediate response to heat and water stress of annual and perennial grain crops
Climate-resilient crops are becoming increasingly desired as global climate patterns continue to shift. This paper looks at the ability of perennial grains to adapt to warmer and drier growing conditions…