Location: Livestock, Forage and Pasture Management Research Unit
2020 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Plants with rapid root and shoot development have better performance and persistence when establishing in dry soil conditions. Plant materials with rapid root and shoot development will lead to better performance and persistence during drought stress periods. Scientists in Woodward, Oklahoma, evaluated the variation of root and shoot development among three little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) parental lines and their three generations of selection. Selection for increased seed germination of little bluestem in simulated dry conditions resulted in little bluestem populations with longer roots, taller shoots, and greater root and shoot biomass. Seedling root and shoot lengths increased for every selection generation. Such plant materials have the potential to be developed into superior cultivars useful for biomass production, livestock grazing, and/or conservation planting which will result in enhanced ecosystem services.
2. Ravenna grass can produce biomass for bioenergy production. Ravenna grass (Tripidium ravennae) is known to produce an abundance of biomass, but it is unknown how plant population density affects its biomass potential or other plant traits when grown for bioenergy production. A scientist in Woodward, Oklahoma, studied the effects of plant population density on biomass yield; plant growth traits; nitrogen removal; and sucrose concentration in leaves and culms. It was found that the biomass yield of Ravenna grass was affected by plant population density in at least four ways. First, biomass yield increased as plant population increased. The biomass yield reached a maximum of 14.5 tons per acre. Plant population density affected the number of reproductive stalks per plant where low plant densities produced a greater number of stalks. Low-plant densities produced higher concentrations of sucrose, and plant density affected the amount of nitrogen removed from the soil. Biomass yield increased with plant density, but also increased the removal of soil nitrogen. Based on this research, Ravenna grass can be produced as a feedstock to biofuel production companies without the need for nitrogen fertilizer inputs.
Review Publications
Springer, T.L., Mornhinweg, D.W. 2019. Seed germination and early seedling growth of barley at negative water potentials. Agronomy. 9(11):671. http://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9110671.
Todd, R.W., Moffet, C., Neel, J.P., Turner, K.E., Steiner, J., Cole, N.A. 2019. Enteric methane emissions of beef cows grazing tallgrass prairie pasture on the southern Great Plains. Transactions of the ASABE. 62(6):1455-1465. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.13341.
Flynn, C.K., Zhou, Y., Gowda, P.H., Moffet, C., Wagle, P., Kakani, V.G. 2019. Burning and climate interactions determine impacts of grazing on tallgrass prairie systems. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 73(1):104-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2019.10.002.
Gunter, S.A. 2019. Effects of stocking and supplementation rates on the performance of steers grazing mixed-grass prairie during the winter. Applied Animal Science. 35:641-651. https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2019-01864.
Thompson, L.R., Beck, M.A., Gunter, S.A., Williams, G.D., Place, S.E., Reuter, R.R. 2019. An energy and monensin supplement reduces methane emission intensity of stocker cattle grazing winter wheat. Applied Animal Science. 35:433-440. https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2018-01841.
Moffet, C., Gunter, S.A. 2020. Comparing two software programs for fitting nonlinear, one- and two-compartment age-dependent digestion models: a Monte Carlo analysis. Livestock Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104153.
Steiner, J., Springer, T.L. 2020. Seed production. In K.J. Moore, M. Collins, C.J. Nelson and D.D. Redfearn editors. Forages-The science of grassland agriculture, II. 7th edition. Chichester, West Sussex England, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. p. 581-592. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119436669.ch32.
Springer, T.L. 2020. Seven little bluestem populations selected for canopy morphology: Selected classes of germplasm. Native Plant Journal. 21(1):45-53.
Puterka, G.J., Hammon, R.W., Mornhinweg, D.W., Springer, T.L., Armstrong, J.S., Brown, M.J. 2019. Distribution of a new invasive species, Sipha maydis Passerini (Heteroptera: Aphididae), on cereals and wild grasses in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states. Journal of Economic Entomology. 112(4):1713-1721. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toz068.
