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…
Perennials as Future Grain Crops: Opportunities and Challenges
New research published in parternship by Carlsberg Group Future Crops, The Land Institute, University of Copenhagen, Carlsberg Foundation, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Innovation Fund Denmark, Lund University in…
Unraveling the genetic components of perenniality: Toward breeding for perennial grains
Although tremendously successful at feeding humanity, row crop agriculture based on annuals contributes to numerous ecosystem dis-services, ranging from soil degradation and aquatic eutrophication to greenhouse gas production. In contrast,…
Detection of Quantitative Trait Loci Regulating Seed Yield Potential in Two Interspecific S. bicolor2 X S. halepense Subpopulations
Abstract Perennial sorghum cropping offers substantial economic and ecological benefits, conserving fuel, water, and soil. To be perennial in temperate climates, a sorghum plant must over-winter and produce new growth…
Transmission Genetics of a Sorghum bicolor × S. halepense Backcross Populations
Despite a “ploidy barrier,” interspecific crosses to wild and/or cultivated sorghum (Sorghum bicolor, 2n = 2x = 20) may have aided the spread across six continents of Sorghum halepense, also exemplifying…
Quantitative Trait Mapping of Plant Architecture in Two BC1F2 Populations of Sorghum Bicolor × S. halepense and Comparisons to Two Other Sorghum Populations
Abstract Key message: Comparing populations derived, respectively, from polyploid Sorghum halepense and its progenitors improved knowledge of plant architecture and showed that S. halepense harbors genetic novelty of potential value for…
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…
High proportion of diploid hybrids produced by interspecific diploid x tetraploid Sorghum hybridization
Abstract: A perennial version of grain sorghum [S.bicolor (L.) Moench] would create opportunities for greatly reducing tillage and preventing soil degradation. Efforts to select for perenniality and grain production among progeny of…
Multi-phase US spread and habitat switching of a post-Columbian invasive, Sorghum halepense
Abstract: Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense) is a striking example of a post-Columbian founder event. This natural experiment within ecological time-scales provides a unique opportunity for understanding patterns of continent-wide genetic diversity…
Response to selection in the initial stages of a perennial sorghum breeding program
Abstract: When developed, perennial grain sorghum could provide an opportunity for more ecologically sound food production. In 2002, we initiated a perennial sorghum breeding program, using Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench × S….
Towards a perennial biomass sorghum crop: A comparative investigation of biomass yields and overwintering of Sorghum bicolor x S. halepense lines relative to long term S. bicolor trials in northern Italy
Abstract: The purpose of this work was to assess biomass and grain yields, path modelling of yield components, and perenniality in 97 Sorghum bicolor x S. halepense (SB x SH) lines, and…
Seed yield and biomass allocation in Sorghum bicolor and F1 and backcross generations of S. bicolor x S. halepense hybrids
The Land Institute is developing perennial grains to be grown in prairie-like mixtures. One approach involves the development of a perennial grain sorghum by crossing tetraploid Sorghum bicolor with wild…