Assessing genetic gain in an intermediate wheatgrass improvement program: A retrospective analysis
Research collaborators at the University of Minnesota conducted an analysis of intermediate wheatgrass, the perennial crop that produces Kernza® grain, to gather insights for breeding programs looking to improve the…
Improving complex agronomic and domestication traits in the perennial grain crop intermediate wheatgrass with genetic mapping and genomic prediction
Intermediate wheatgrass, the grass that produces Kernza® perennial grain, is being domesticated for its potential as a human food that also delivers notable ecological benefits. Research partners at the University…
A Perennial Green Revolution to address 21st-century food insecurity and malnutrition
Researchers at Colorado State University published a paper discussing the benefits of pursuing a “Perennial Green Revolution” where the further development of perennial grains like Kernza®, silflower (a perennial oilseed…
Lignin, extractives and structural carbohydrate characteristics of Thinopyrum intermedium biomass reveal additional valorization opportunities for dual-crop utilization
Lee DeHaan, Lead Scientist in the Kernza Domestication Program, and researchers at the University of Kentucky-Lexington published a study analyzing the potential for intermediate wheatgrass biomass to serve as a…
Evaluating the quality characteristics of intermediate wheatgrass grown in the Canadian prairies
Collaborators at the University of Manitoba in Canada conducted a study to determine how the growing environment for intermediate wheatgrass (the plant that produces Kernza® grain) impacts the nutritional content…
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…
Genetic Constitution and Variability in Synthetic Populations of Intermediate Wheatgrass, an Out-crossing Perennial Grain Crop
Long-time collaborators at the University of Minnesota released a paper evaluating trait differences among four synthetic populations of MN-Clearwater, the first commercially available variety of intermediate wheatgrass (the plant that…
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…
Determining the footprint of breeding in the seed microbiome of a perennial cereal
Like humans, plants possess a microbiome that can be inherited and passed on to the next generation of plant seeds, which provides opportunities for plant breeders to harness knowledge surrounding…
Nutritional Quality of Early-Generation Kernza Perennial Grain
A nutritional study on early-generation grain from the Kernza breeding program documents the nutritional quality of the perennial grain, with data underscoring its macronutrient composition, vitamin and mineral content, and…