Can Yang

Document Type

Thesis - University Access Only

Award Date

2011

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Plant Science

Abstract

Prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Link) (PCG) is a North American perennial warm-season grass with high biomass production and good ability to thrive in marginal wetlands that are unsuitable for the growth of corn or switchgrass. Prairie cordgrass has strong potential as a biofuel crop. The objectives of this study were to: 1) compare the biomass partitioning of PCG and switchgrass, 2) examine the phenology of PCG including change in height, leaf number per tiller, and tiller density during the growing season and duration of flowering, and 3) estimate heritability of panicle number per plant and rust resistance. Prairie cordgrass produced larger tillers than switchgrass and distributed proportionally more of its biomass into leaves than did switchgrass. Plant height and leaf number per tiller showed linear relationships with day of year, whereas tiller density reached a peak during early June, declined during July and early August, after which it was relatively constant until the end of the growing season. Differences were found between two locations for plant height and tiller density, with higher values of each where soil moisture was more plentiful throughout the growing season. There was no difference in leaf number per tiller between locations. The duration of four stages of flowering (i.e., heading through post-anthesis) varied at different times during the growing season. The trend was for duration of each stage to decrease as the growing season progressed, indicating that the time of the growing season (i.e. early vs. late flowering periods) will be a factor in the design of controlled pollinations in the field for breeding purposes. Heritability of panicle number per plant was moderately high and rust resistance was high. This suggested that it should be possible to select high seed yield and rust resistant genotypes for further breeding. This research produced new knowledge on the reproductive biology, biomass partitioning, and genetics of disease resistance and seed production that is useful to breeding programs aimed at improving agronomic traits in prairie cord grass.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Spartina -- Phenology

Spartina -- Analysis

Spartina -- Genetics

Biomass energy

Energy crops

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

45

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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