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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Dairy Forage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #395000
Research Project: Improving Forage Genetics and Management in Integrated Dairy Systems for Enhanced Productivity, Efficiency and Resilience, and Decreased Environmental Impact

Location: Dairy Forage Research

Title: Registration of 'Empire' big bluestem

Author
item CASLER, MICHAEL - Retired ARS Employee
item LEE, DOKYOUNG - University Of Illinois

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/2/2022
Publication Date: 5/10/2023
Citation: Casler, M.D., Lee, D. 2023. Registration of 'Empire' big bluestem. Journal of Plant Registrations. 17(2):223-227. https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20280.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20280

Interpretive Summary: Big bluestem is undergoing development as a perennial, profitable, and sustainable biomass crop for conversion of biomass to bioenergy. Increasing biomass yield is a key element of the process to develop new varieties for this purpose. Big bluestem collected from southern regions of the USA is extremely late in flowering, which increases biomass yield, but these collections are also very poor in winter hardiness. Empire is a new variety of big bluestem, developed from plants collected in the central and southern Great Plains. Empire was tested for 6 years at 12 locations in the northern USA, where it averaged 30 to 50% higher in biomass yield compared to other commercial varieties. Empire ranked #1 in biomass yield at eight of 12 locations and is broadly adapted to the entire region from the Northern Great Plains to the Northeastern USA. Empire was released by USDA in 2021.

Technical Abstract: 'Empire' (Reg. No. ______, PI xxxxxx) big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) is a 54-clone synthetic selected for high biomass yield. Empire is broadly adapted to USDA hardiness zones 3 through 7, ranging from the Great Plains to the Eastern USA. While Empire was developed as a high-biomass cultivar for use in establishing perennial biomass production for conversion to bioenergy, it has a heading date similar to many other big bluestem cultivars, suggesting that it could be used as a forage crop as well, for either hay or pasture production. Under an optimal single-harvest biomass production management, Empire ranked #1 in biomass yield for eight of 12 locations in multiple-year trials, averaged over a total of 40 environments (location-trial-years). Biomass yield of Empire, averaged over 12 locations, was 30% higher than for Goldmine, 46% higher than for Champ, and 52% higher than for Bonanza. Ground cover of Empire was slightly higher than for most check cultivars, averaging 80% across all 12 locations. Empire is broadly adapted to USDA hardiness zones 3 to 6, extending from the Great Plains to the Eastern USA, and was released to the public by the USDA-ARS in 2021.