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…
Nutritional quality of Onobrychis viciifolia (Scop.) seeds: A potentially novel perennial pulse crop for human use
Researchers from the Legume and Crop Stewardship Programs at The Land Institute collaborated with Turkish research partners to release this publication documenting the potential of sainfoin, a perennial legume, as…
A social perennial vision for the North American Great Plains rooted in the resilience of a natural system-inspired agriculture
In the 2022 book Creating Resilient Landscapes in an Era of Climate Change, a shift to natural systems agriculture, which is modeled by indigenous agricultural practices and the diverse, perennial mixtures found in prairie ecosystems,…
Policy pathways for perennial agriculture
Recent research highlights the policy mechanisms and market developments that are necessary to catalyze a shift toward perennial agriculture systems that provide more substantial ecosystem services and greater climate resilience…
An Aridamerican model for agriculture in a hotter, water scarce world
Societal Impact Statement Climate change is dramatically restructuring agriculture and damaging crops, food security, and human health, especially in deserts. To radically redesign food systems to buffer against climatic disruptions,…
New Food Crop Domestication in the Age of Gene Editing: Genetic, Agronomic and Cultural Change Remain Co-evolutionarily Entangled
The classic domestication scenario for grains and fruits has been portrayed as the lucky fixation of major-effect “domestication genes.” Characterization of these genes plus recent improvements in generating novel alleles…
MN‐Clearwater, the First Food‐Grade Intermediate Wheatgrass (Kernza Perennial Grain) Cultivar
Abstract ‘MN‐Clearwater’ (Reg. no. CV‐287, PI 692651) is the world’s first commercial food‐grade intermediate wheatgrass [IWG; Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & D.R. Dewey subsp. intermedium ] grain cultivar. It was…
Reduced nitrate leaching in a perennial grain crop compared to maize in the Upper Midwest, USA
Abstract: Global expansion of high-input annual grain crops and associated nitrogen (N) fertilizer use can have negative consequences for the environment and human health. Nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) leaching from fertilized…
Is the Future of Agriculture Perennial? Imperatives & Opportunities to Reinvent Agriculture by Shifting from Annual Monocultures to Perennial Polycultures
Non-technical summary: Modern agriculture is associated with numerous environmental predicaments, such as land degradation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emission. Socio-economically, it is characterized by a treadmill of technological change, increased…
Development of Perennial Grain Sorghum
Abstract: Perennial germplasm derived from crosses between Sorghum bicolor and either S. halepense or S. propinquum is being developed with the goal of preventing and reversing soil degradation in the…
Realizing Resilient Food Systems
Abstract: Food systems are under increasing pressure to produce sufficient food for the global population, decrease the environmental impacts of production, and buffer against complex global change. Food security also…