Closing the Gap Between Grasslands and Grain Agriculture
Grasslands are among the biomes that have been most extensively degraded or eliminated by the expansion of agriculture. Grasslands are also threatened by development, poor management, and climate change. This…
Accelerating Silphium Domestication: An Opportunity to Develop New Crop Ideotypes and Breeding Strategies Informed by Multiple Disciplines
Abstract Silphium perfoliatum L. (cup plant, silphie) and S. integrifolium Michx. (rosinweed, silflower) are in the same subfamily and tribe as sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Silphium perfoliatum has been grown…
Going where no grains have gone before
Abstract: Annual-based arable agroecosystems experience among the greatest frequency, extent and magnitude of disturbance regimes of all terrestrial ecosystems. In order to control non-crop vegetation, farmers implement tillage practices and/or…
A Pipeline Strategy for Grain Crop Domestication
Abstract: In the interest of diversifying the global food system, improving human nutrition, and making agriculture more sustainable, there have been many proposals to domesticate wild plants or complete the…
Useful insights from evolutionary biology for developing perennial grain crops
Abstract: Annual grain crops dominate agricultural landscapes and provide the majority of calories consumed by humanity. Perennial grain crops could potentially ameliorate the land degradation and off-site impacts associated with…
Long-term impacts of high-input annual cropping and unfertilized perennial grass production…
Abstract: Soil ecosystem properties and processes which simultaneously maintain native fertility and sustain plant yields are of principal interest in sustainable agriculture. Native prairies in Kansas are relevant in this…
Variation in Illinois bundleflower (Desmanthus illioensis (Michaux) MacMillan): A potential perennial grain legume
Abstract: Illinois bundleflower, Desmanthus illinoensis (Michaux) MacMillan, is an herbaceous perennial legume native to the central and southeastern USA. It has been identified as a potential perennial grain legume. To…
Developing high seed yielding perennial polycultures as a mimic of mid-grass prairie
Abstract: Over the past two decades, work at The Land Institute has aimed to develop sustainable farming as a functional mimic of mid-grass prairie. Ecological studies of unploughed prairie suggested…
Predicting evolutionary consequences of greater reproductive effort in Tripsacum dactyloides, a perennial grass
To test the prediction that a mutation causing greater reproductive effort will result in reduced vegetative vigor, we compared the seed production, growth, and carbohydrate status of normal and pistillate…
Illinois Bundleflower: Prospects For A Perennial Seed Crop
Presented Aug. 5, 1990 Published 1992 Abstract: Illinois bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoensis (Michx.) MacM., Fabaceae) is a warm-season perennial legume of the North American grass-lands. It is rated by some as…
Size structure and seed yield over 4 years in an experimental Cassia marilandica (Leguminosae) population
Abstract: An experimental population of a perennial species, Cassia marilandica, was monitored for 4 years to examine changes in size structure and seed production over time. Plants flowered and set…
Comparison of Monoecious and Gynomonoecious Eastern Gamagrass Breeding Systems for Foliar Disease Susceptibility and Agronomic Traits
Abstract: The discovery of a gynomonoecious sex form (GSF) of eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides) has greatly increased our expectations for high seed yield from this species. Reported estimates range from…