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Research Project:
DEVELOP AND MANAGE FORAGE RESOURCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Location:
Forage and Livestock Production Unit
Project Number: 6218-21410-002-00
Project Type:
Appropriated
Start Date: Dec 10, 2002
End Date: Dec 09, 2007
Objective:
Develop rain-fed forage production systems appropriate for the southern Great Plains which utilize novel forage sources to provide adequate amounts of high-quality forage over most of the year, minimize input costs, and maximize nutrient use efficiency by incorporating legumes to provide nitrogen inputs. Specific objectives include identification and genetic improvement of adapted cultivars of perennial cool-season grasses and legumes; elimination of problems with persistence and other constraints to their use; development of sustainable approaches to biomass/bioenergy crop production; and development of new technologies for real-time assessment of forage quality and biomass.
Approach:
Germplasm with potential for use in the region will be obtained from a variety of sources and evaluated in the field for adaptation, productivity, forage quality, and other traits. Persistence, productivity, and quality of selected perennial cool-season grasses will be genetically improved through traditional and marker-assisted breeding methods and interspecific hybridization. Forage sequences including grasses, legumes, and legume/grass mixtures are evaluated in the field under varying levels of fertilization, grazing pressure, and abiotic stress. Hyperspectral reflectance data will be compared to laboratory analyses and bench-top near-infrared spectroscopy as an approach to monitoring forage quality and biomass in the field. Productive and adapted biomass crops and efficient approaches to their production in a conservation context (on buffer strips, CRP lands and during fallow periods) will be defined in collaboration with ARS and university cooperators.
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