Wednesday, November 7, 2007
278-10

Evaluation of Leadplant (Amorpha canescens) Germplasm Collected from Prairies in the Midwest, USA.

Courtney Schuler, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 321 Keim Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583, Kenneth Vogel, USDA-ARS, Room 314, Biochemistry Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0737, David Baltensperger, 434 Heep Center - 2474 TAMU, Texas A&M University - Soil & Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, College Station, TX 77843-2474, Gautam Sarath, Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research Unit, USDA-ARS, 314 Bichemistry Hall, East Campus, UNL, Lincoln, NE 68583, and Rob Mitchell, PO Box 830937, USDA-ARS, U. of Nebraska, 314 Biochemistry Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0937.

Leadplant (Amorpha canescens Pursh.) is a small leguminous shrub native to the prairies and plains of the central USA where it is a valuable forage species.  Seed of leadplant is in high demand for reseeding grasslands to native species.  Released cultivars and source identified germplasms are not available for commercial seed production.  To address this problem, leadplant germplasm was collected from remnant prairies in the Midwest and Central Plains.  Accessions collected from remnant prairies were classified by the Plant Adaptation Region (PAR) from which they were collected. PARs are geographical areas defined by combining Ecoregions and USDA Plant Hardiness Zones.  Seedlings of the accessions were transplanted into isolated polycross nurseries for each PAR which also serve as evaluation nurseries.  The leadplant germplasm in a PAR nursery represents the genetic variability of leadplant in that PAR.  Accessions in each of four nurseries were evaluated for phenological development and seed yield in 2006.  Growth stages included early, mid, and late vegetative; early and late bud; early and late bloom; early, late, and mature seed.  Once accessions reached the mature seed stage, inflorescences were harvested and threshed on a per-plot basis, cleaned, and weighed.  Similar data is being collected in 2007.  In 2006, there was substantial genetic variation for all traits and it should be possible to select accessions that have superior seed yields. Data from two years of evaluation will be presented.

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