HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Boe, A. Articles by Lee, D. K. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Boe, A. Articles by Lee, D. K. Agricola Articles by Boe, A. Articles by Lee, D. K. Related Collections Biofuels Crop Genetics Crop Growth and Development

CROP BREEDING & GENETICS

Genetic Variation for Biomass Production in Prairie Cordgrass and Switchgrass

Plant Science Dep., South Dakota State Univ., Brookings, SD 57007. This research was supported by the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, the USDOE through contract DE-FC36-02G012028, A000 with Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development, Minneapolis, MN, and USDOE's Biomass program through contract DE-A105-900R2194 with Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL). ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the USDOE under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. South Dakota Agric. Expt. Stn. Journal Series No. 3450

^* Corresponding author (arvid.boe{at}sdstate.edu).

Prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Link.) is tall, rhizomatous, and native to marshes, drainage ways, and moist prairies in North America. Our objectives were to determine genetic variation among cordgrass populations for biomass production, to describe the distribution of biomass among phytomers and between leaf and stem components of cordgrass, to compare biomass production and composition of cordgrass to switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), and to determine heritability for biomass production in switchgrass. Seven populations of cordgrass and ‘Cave-In-Rock’, ‘Summer’, and ‘Sunburst’ switchgrass were harvested in October in 2001 through 2004. Mean biomass production across years ranged from 5.1 to 7. 9 Mg ha^–1 among cordgrass populations. Yields of cordgrass (6.0 Mg ha^–1) were similar to Cave-In-Rock (6.8 Mg ha^–1) for the first two years. However production in the fourth year was greater for cordgrass (6.8 Mg ha^–1) than Cave-In-Rock (2.0 Mg ha^–1). Two cordgrass populations produced more biomass (9.3 Mg ha^–1) than Summer and Sunburst (4.8 Mg ha^–1) in the fourth year. Leaf comprised 70% of the biomass of cordgrass, and differences occurred among phytomers for leaf and internode traits. Cellulose and hemicellulose concentrations were similar for cordgrass and switchgrass, but cordgrass had higher levels of total N and ash. Narrow-sense heritability estimates for biomass production in Summer and Sunburst switchgrass were 0.6. Biomass production of native warm-season grasses intended for biofuel purposes in the northern Great Plains may be enhanced by selecting among populations of cordgrass and among families within cultivars of switchgrass.

Abbreviations: ADF, acid detergent fiber; ADL, acid detergent lignin; NDF, neutral detergent fiber; TN, total N.