A New Recipe for Biofuel: Genetic Diversity Can Lead to More Productive Growth in Switchgrass Crops
Tuesday, February 23, 2016 - 12:30
in Earth & Climate
A team of national laboratory and university researchers led by the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Argonne National Laboratory is growing large test plots of switchgrass crops with the farmer in mind. For the first time, researchers have mixed different genetic varieties of switchgrass on production-size plots, hypothesizing this could increase yield by extending the growing season, varying the size of the switchgrass plants to produce a fuller crop and potentially reducing the crop's vulnerability to weather fluctuations. A seven-year study showed the switchgrass variety mixture was, most consistently, the highest yielding crop, as measured by the harvested dry weight from each plot.