Perennial rice – An alternative to the ‘one-sow, one-harvest’ rice production: Benefits, challenges, and future prospects
With a high-yielding perennial rice variety moving onto landscapes in Asia and Africa, researchers from the Indian Institute of Rice Research (ICAR) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) released…
Breeding Potential for Increasing Carbon Sequestration via Rhizomatous Grain Sorghum
Building on existing knowledge of perennial sorghum development through The Land Institute’s breeding program and considerations around the benefits of perennial grain agriculture through research from The Land Institute and…
Soil microbial and plant biomass carbon allocation within perennial and annual grain cropping systems
Research collaborators from the University of Minnesota published a study indicating that perennial cropping systems with intermediate wheatgrass (Kernza) can sustain soil microbial activity and maintain higher root production than…
The microbiome of a perennial cereal differs from annual winter wheat only in the root endosphere
An international research cohort affiliated with universities and groups in Austria, Poland, Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden, Kenya, and the United Kingdom published a study looking at belowground biodiversity of microbes…
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…