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…
David Pimentel consistently promoted perennial grains as the future of agriculture
Authors Tim Crews and Sienna Polk pay homage to influential entomologist and Cornell University professor David Pimentel, who was widely known for his numerous studies on the energetics of traditional…
Adaptation of pathogens to their local plant host, Silphium integrifolium, along a precipitation gradient
Featuring five researchers from The Land Institute, this manuscript documents the prevalence of plant pathogens associated with human-induced changes to the planet’s climate and ecosystems, with the perennial prairie plant…
Nitrate leaching losses and the fate of 15N fertilizer in perennial intermediate wheatgrass and annual wheat — A field study
Recent research in ecology illustrates the advantage that perennial grains like Kernza (intermediate wheatgrass) possess in reducing nitrate leaching when compared to popular annual grain crops like wheat, as the…