USDA-NRCSPlant Materials Development & Use

Service Areas of the Plant Materials Centers

The Eastern U.S. Plant Materials Centers

Development of a Plant Materials Release

Field collection occurs throughout the

a PMC Service Area.

Timely germplasm releases for general conservation and restoration use for a limited

geographic area

Cultivar development for specific uses, such as wildlife habitat, forage or soil bioengineering,

adapted to a wide geographic area

Deciding when to Develop a Plant Species for Release

• What is the demand for Plant Material development and releases?– Agriculture– Conservation/Water Quality/Farm Bill– Urban Brownfields– Critical Wildlife Habitat– Recreation– Disturbed Lands-Natural/Man made

Trends in the Origin of Plant Materials Releases

Total Releases - 508

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Num

ber

of R

elea

ses

Native

Introduced

Plant Releases

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Test

ing

Time in Years

Cultivar

Tested

Selected

Source-identified

Plant Development = New Plant ReleasesG

enet

ic D

iver

sity

of t

he

Ger

mp

lasm

Predictable and Inheritable Characteristics

Source-Identified

Cultivar

Tested

Selected

Nationally, Commercial value of the Plant Materials Program Products - 2002

• Vegetative Production- $ 17,000,000

• Seed Production - $ 80,000,000

• Total- $ 97,000,000

Economic Program Benefit – 6:1 ratio

Costs

Program Benefit

CostsProgramBenefit

Project Highlights from the East Region Plant

Materials Program

Local Ecotype Releases Available (Mid-Atlantic)

• Suther Remnant Prairie (NC)

• Monarch germplasm seaside goldenrod

• High-tide switchgrass (Upper Chesapeake Bay)

• Seacoast bluestem (Mid-Atlantic collections)

Local Eco-types Available for New England States

• Little bluestem

• Big bluestem

• Indiangrass

Panicum virgatumswitchgrass

Schizachyrium scopariumlittle bluestem

Pending Releases (within 2 years)

• Prairie cordgrass (Big Flats)

• Giant cordgrass (Cape May)

• Eastern gamagrass (Big Flats)

• Beaked panicum (Beltsville)

• Indiangrass (Big Flats/Beltsville)

• Virginia wildrye (Beltsville)

• Grass-leaved aster (Beltsville)

Sorghastrum nutansindiangrass

Spartina pectinataprairie cordgrass

Panicum ancepsbeaked panicum

Sorghastrum secundumlopsided indiangrass

Andropogon glomeratus var. glaucopsis

chalky bluestem

Calamagrostis canadensisCanada bluejoint

Danthonia spicatapoverty oatgrass

Deschampsia flexuosacrinkled hairgrass

Cinna arundinaceastout woodreed

Interface with the commercial seed and nursery industries to develop and release plant material

for commercial availability

Why Grow Conservation Plants?

• Diversification: An alternative to corn-soybeans-vegetables. Some species may provide off-season income.

• New Markets: Plants for soil bioengineering, biofuels, agroforestry (windbreaks/buffers) and water quality applications.

• Foundation Plants/Production Guidelines provided by the Plant Materials Center/Specialist.

• Technical Support/Marketing Assistance provided by the Plant Materials Program through fact sheets, brochures, plant source directories.

• Assisting limited resource farmers/underrepresented customers (i.e. Native American tribes)

Printed MaterialsPlant Materials Program Web Site Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov

With links to:

PLANTS Database

PLANTS Species Profiles

Information:

Publications

Fact Sheets

Plant Releases

Plant Materials Centers

Program Products

Printed

Materials Presentations /

Training Sessions / Site

Visits

Conservation Plant

Releases

Other Major Projects

• Root physiology study (with ARS-Penn State & Beckley, WV)

• Carbon Sequestration (with ARS-Penn State)• Herbicide Study-Establishment of native warm

season grasses• Dormant seeding of native warm season grasses• Interseeding cover crops at corn planting (Big

Flats-SARE grant)• Eastern Gamagrass Yield with Interseeded

Legumes

NRCS/ARS Root Physiology StudyWarm Season Grass Screening for Riparian

Buffer Applications

– Compare NRCS warm season grass cultivars to determine root type and ability to grow into saturated soils. (drained vs wet bath treatment)

– Various cultivars of each species used: Switchgrass, Big bluestem, Little bluestem, Indiangrass, Eastern gamagrass, Prairie cordgrass. (27 entries)

OBSERVATIONS

– The rooting depth of the grasses was directly proportional to the top growth. (3 month growing season in the greenhouse; loam soil)

– Both Eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides) cultivars and ‘Red River’ Prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata) extended roots to the bottom of the tubes in both the dry and saturated treatments.

OBSERVATIONS

– Most switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) cultivars consistently rooted into the capillary fringe above the saturated zone.

– Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) and Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) rooting depths were highly variable by cultivar however none penetrated the saturated zone.

Field Planting (Spring 2004)

• Species will be outplanted to field plots:– Wye Research Ctr., Maryland– Klingerstown, PA– Big Flats, NY

*Roots will be studied in-situ by ARS using a root probe in 2006

Carbon Sequestration: Conversion of Cool Season Grass Stands into Native Warm Season

Grass Systems

Implications for Carbon Sequestration

What do we know?

• Cool season grasses are shallow rooted. Long term stands have developed shallow C-pools.

• Warm season grasses are deeper rooted than cool season grasses. (deeper C-pool)

• Success of no-till drilling warm season grasses into killed cool season stands has been highly variable.

The BIG Question is…..

• Will converting long-term cool season grass systems into warm season grass systems increase or decrease the total carbon pool?

Soil sampling

Soil carbon analysis

Costs vary from lab to lab.

No-till drilling into killed sod

Seedling Counts-August 1999

September 2003

Soil Carbon Content: 0 to 2 inch depth (.05 within instrument variability.)

Grass Current 2003

(% C)

Change since

1999 (% C)

Big Bluestem 1.39 0.11

Coastal Panicgrass 1.51 0.05

Switchgrass 1.99 -0.36

Little bluestem/

Indiangrass

2.26 0.19

Eastern

Gamagrass

1.56 0.20

****

• Deeper samples to one meter.

• Sample analyses has not been finalized.

• Anticipated that C will increase.

WSG Dormant Seeding

• Seeding of switchgrass and coastal panicgrass at Cape May in mid-December, mid-March, and mid-June resulted in similar stands after two growing seasons.

• Two years of trials at Big Flats using switchgrass, big bluestem, little bluestem, & indiangrass resulted in early spring (March) seedings having highest seedling density

Cover Crop Establishment at Corn Planting

• Evaluate herbicides for compatibility to corn and cover crops

• To determine which cover crop species can be successfully established under corn

• To determine if intended benefits of cover can be maintained.

• Effects of cover crops on corn yield

Conservation Trials/Field Plantings

• Interspecies plantings on sand dunes to promote plant diversity

• Interspecies plantings on tidal fresh shorelines (willow, switchgrass, prairie cordgrass, coastal panicgrass, eastern gamagrass)

• Living snow fences (shrub willow and dogwood)• Windbreaks around poultry houses for odor/dust

control• Direct seeding of shrubs on mined lands

Written Products Pending

• Critical Area Planting Booklet for NE• Pocket field guide for evaluating native grass

stands• Revise-Stabilization of Sand Dunes in Mid-

Atlantic/Southern New England booklet• Soil Bioengineering-Plant Materials selection/use

guide book• Website factsheets/plant guides development

Other Issues

• Dredge material –vegetation establishment• Soil Compaction/Soil Quality• Plant Applications-Stormwater Management BMP’s• Riparian buffer/filter strip plantings (species/arrangement)• Coastal bluffs-Soil Bioengineering approach• Innovative applications of native plants to suppress

invasive species spread • Brownfields/phytoremediation• Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV)

Presentations / Training Sessions / Site Visits

• For individual land owners, schools, specialized groups, and interagency

What is the VALUE of thePlant Materials Program

• The ability to develop plant materials to meet the ever-changing environmental and landowner demands.

• Established Plant Materials Centers to accommodate regional plant needs

• Unique nationwide network of PMC’s/PMS’s to address all geographic/climatic variables

• 65 years of experience and plant material specialists’ expertise

• Alternative enterprise for commercial growers and end-users who are unable, individually, to test and monitor plant materials

The Plant Materials Program can be the most efficient and effective solution

to YOUR conservation needs...