Evaluation of Small Grain Cover Crops to Enhance Switchgrass Establishment

Keyser, Patrick D.; Ashworth, Amanda J.; Allen, Fred L.; Bates, Gary E.

doi:10.2135/cropsci2015.12.0783

Cited by 10 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…These reasons explain the differences between oat and rye in improving switchgrass tiller density. While our findings support previous research in Massachusetts, in Tennessee, Keyser et al indicated that, except in one location, there were no differences between oat and rye in establishing switchgrass [29], suggesting that management practices for improving switchgrass establishment are site-specific.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Overall, Sadeghpour et al concluded that, considering both weed control and switchgrass establishment, oat was a superior option to rye for switchgrass establishment [27]. A study by Keyser et al reported that wheat was the only cover crop that positively influenced switchgrass establishment [29]. These authors did not report yield data in the establishment year but indicated no yield penalty in the succeeding years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Integrated Management Practices for Establishing Upland Switchgrass Varieties

et al. 2021

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Establishment of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is challenging, and failure in establishment may expose growers to considerable economic risk. The objectives of this research were to (i) evaluate whether management practices are variety-specific for the establishment of switchgrass and (ii) assess the effectiveness of cover crops as preceding crops on ‘Shawnee’ switchgrass establishment. Therefore, two studies were conducted at the University of Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station in Deerfield, MA, USA, in the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 growing seasons. In Experiment 1, cover crop treatments (fallow, oat (Avena sativa L.) and rye (Secale cereale L.)) were the main plots, the two seeding methods (no-till drill and a cultipacker seeder (Brillion)) were the sub-plots, and the two varieties (‘Cave-in-Rock’ (CIR) and Shawnee)) were the sub-sub-plots. The second study was conducted using Shawnee switchgrass and involved the three cover crop treatments used in Experiment 1 using a cultipacker seeder with seed firming prior to planting but not afterwards (consistent in both experiments). The results indicated that a combination of oat and no-till resulted in higher tiller density (493%), lower weed biomass (77%), increased switchgrass biomass (SGB) (283%) and SGB to weed biomass (WB) ratio. Compared with Shawnee, CIR planted into a winter-killed oat residue had higher tiller density (93%), lower weed biomass (18%), higher switchgrass yield (128%) and thus a greater SGB:WB ratio (507%). Trends of switchgrass response to management practices, however, were similar between the two varieties, indicating that seed quality rather than management practices could influence switchgrass’s response to management practices. In Experiment 2, Shawnee tiller density was suppressed by rye as the preceding crop, possibly due to late termination of rye. Shawnee switchgrass yields were below 1000 kg ha−1 under all management practices; thus, harvesting should happen in the year following establishment. Future research should focus on comparing no-till drilling with cultipacker seeder with rolling not only before but after seeding to increase seed–soil contact.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Management Practices for Establishing Upland Switchgrass Varieties

et al. 2021

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“…Nevertheless, this study provides useful information about the determinants of crop diversification, and the results are similar to those reported in different diverse settings. 14-20,28-32 These data and the implications are therefore deemed generalizable beyond the study settings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Additional research is needed on the costs and benefits of tobacco compared with alternative crops to particularly demonstrate that income from crop substitution can exceed that of growing tobacco. 31,32…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Willingness to Stop Growing Tobacco in Uganda

Karemani

Nuwaha

2019

JGO

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PURPOSE Tobacco use is the leading cause of premature death worldwide. One aspect of tobacco control is convincing farmers to stop tobacco production. We assessed the willingness of tobacco farmers in Uganda to stop growing tobacco. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional interview survey with an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Participants were active tobacco farmers in 12 villages of Kanungu district (N = 528) and were interviewed in 2013 to assess their willingness to stop growing tobacco. RESULTS Most farmers (61.7%) grew tobacco only as a cash crop with no supplemental income. A total of 198 farmers (37.5%) were willing to stop growing tobacco. Ninety-two respondents cited coffee as a potential replacement crop for tobacco and 106 mentioned rice. Barriers to growing replacement crops were that tobacco is highly profitable (n = 172) and that the soil (n = 175) and/or weather (n = 22) cannot sustain any crops other than tobacco. Willingness to stop growing tobacco was 1.32 times as likely among farmers who said that tobacco use causes respiratory diseases and 1.16 times as likely among farmers who received less than less than $300 USD from tobacco sales in the previous season. Agreeing that tobacco is profitable decreased the likelihood of willingness to stop growing tobacco by 36%. CONCLUSION Only one in three farmers were willing to stop growing tobacco. To increase their willingness to stop growing tobacco, farmers must be educated on the health consequences of tobacco and we must demonstrate to farmers that other crops may be more profitable than tobacco.

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“…Slow-growing seedlings cannot compete with weeds, seriously affecting the development of switchgrass. It is important to understand the reasons for slow seedling development to improve large-scale cultivation of switchgrass and maximize its economic benefits as a model bioenergy crop [3, 4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative transcriptome analysis provides key insights into seedling development in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)

Zhang

Sun

Wang

et al. 2019

Biotechnol Biofuels

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Background Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.), a warm-season perennial C4 plant, can be used as a forage plant, a soil and water conservation plant, a windbreak plant, and as a good source of biofuels and alternative energy with low planting costs. However, switchgrass exhibits low rates of seedling development compared to other crops, which means it is typically out-competed by weeds. There is a large variation in seedling development rates among different plantlets in switchgrass, which limits its usefulness for large-scale cultivation. Little is currently known about the molecular reasons for slow seedling growth. Results Characterization of the seedling development process via growth indices indicated a relatively stagnant growth stage in switchgrass. A total of 678 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from the comparison of transcriptomes from slowly developed (sd) and rapidly developed (rd) switchgrass seedlings. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were enriched in diterpenoid biosynthesis, thiamine metabolism, and circadian rhythm. Transcription factor enrichment and expression analyses showed MYB-related, bHLH and NAC family genes were essential for seedling growth. The transcriptome results were consistent with those of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Then, the expression profiles of maize and switchgrass were compared during seedling leaf development. A total of 128 DEGs that play key roles in seedling growth were aligned to maize genes. Transcriptional information and physiological indices suggested that several genes involved in the circadian rhythm, thiamine metabolism, energy metabolism, gibberellic acid biosynthesis, and signal transduction played important roles in seedling development. Conclusions The seedling development process of switchgrass was characterized, and the molecular differences between slowly developed and rapidly developed seedlings were discussed. This study provides new insights into the reasons for slow seedling development in switchgrass and will be useful for the genetic improvement of switchgrass and other crops. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-019-1534-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Evaluation of Small Grain Cover Crops to Enhance Switchgrass Establishment

Cited by 10 publications

References 40 publications

Integrated Management Practices for Establishing Upland Switchgrass Varieties

Integrated Management Practices for Establishing Upland Switchgrass Varieties

Willingness to Stop Growing Tobacco in Uganda

Comparative transcriptome analysis provides key insights into seedling development in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)

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