Life Sciences Commons^™

Root-Associated Bacterial Communities And Root Metabolite Composition Are Linked To Nitrogen Use Efficiency In Sorghum, Yen Ning Chai, Yunhui Qi, Emily Goren, Dawn Chiniquy, Amy M. Sheflin,, Susannah G. Tringe, Jessica E. Prenni, Peng Liu, Daniel P. Schachtman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The development of cereal crops with high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is a priority for worldwide agriculture. In addition to conventional plant breeding and genetic engineering, the use of the plant microbiome offers another approach to improving crop NUE. To gain insight into the bacterial communities associated with sorghum lines that differ in NUE, a field experiment was designed comparing 24 diverse Sorghum bicolor lines under sufficient and deficient nitrogen (N). Amplicon sequencing and untargeted gas chromatography–mass spectrometry were used to characterize the bacterial communities and the root metabolome associated with sorghum genotypes varying in sensitivity to low N. We …

Intensification Differentially Affects The Delivery Of Multiple Ecosystem Services In Subtropical And Temperate Grasslands, Shishir Paudel, Nuria Gomez-Casanovas, Elizabeth H. Boughton, Samuel D. Chamberlain, Pradeep Wagle, Brekke L. Peterson, Rajen Bajgain, Patrick J. Starks, Jefferey Basara, Carl J. Bernacchi, Evan H. Delucia, Laura E. Goodman, Prasanna H. Gowda, Ryan Reuter, Jed P. Sparks, Hilary M. Swain, Xiangming Xiao, Jean L. Steiner

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Intensification, the process of intensifying land management to enhance agricultural goods, results in “intensive” pastures that are planted with productive grasses and fertilized. These intensive pastures provide essential ecosystem services, including forage production for livestock. Understanding the synergies and tradeoffs of pasture intensification on the delivery of services across climatic regions is crucial to shape policies and incentives for better management of natural resources. Here, we investigated how grassland intensification affects key components of provisioning (forage productivity and quality), supporting (plant diversity) and regulating services (CO2 and CH4 fluxes) by comparing these services between intensive versus extensive pastures in subtropical …

Macro And Micro-Nutrient Accumulation And Partitioning In Soybean Affected By Water And Nitrogen Supply, Ingrid Silva Setubal, Aderson Soares De Andrade Júnior, Silvestre Paulino Da Silva, Artenisa Cerqueira Rodrigues, Aurenívia Bonifácio, Evandro Henrique Figueiredo Moura Da Silva, Paulo Fernando De Melo Jorge Vieira, Rafael De Souza Miranda, Nicolas Cafaro La Menza, Henrique Antunes De Souza

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

This study aimed to investigate the influence of water availability and nitrogen fertilization on plant growth, nutrient dynamics, and variables related to soybean crop yield. Trials were performed in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil, using randomized blocks in a split-split plot arrangement. The plots corresponded to water regimes (full and deficient), the split plots to N fertilization (0 and 1000 kg ha^-1 N-urea), and the split-split plots to harvest times of soybean plants (16, 23, 30, 37, 44, 58, 65, 79 and 86 days after emergence), with three replicates. In general, the accumulation and partitioning of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium …

Plasticity Of Sorghum Biomass And Inflorescence Traits In Response To Nitrogen Application, Kyle M. Linders

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient required for growth and development in plants. Insufficient nitrogen availability can reduce vegetative growth and grain yield. However, nitrogen is a costly input for farmers, is energy intensive to manufacture, and runoff of excess nitrogen fertilizer impacts water quality. Compared to its close relative, maize, sorghum has much greater resilience to nitrogen and water deficit, and heat stress, allowing sorghum to be grown with fewer inputs and on marginal land. Variation in total biomass accumulation and grain yield between sorghum accessions, as well as between nitrogen conditions, can be largely explained by differences in vegetative …

Uses And Benefits Of Algae As A Nutritional Supplement For Honey Bees, Benjamin J. Nichols, Vincent A. Ricigliano

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Honey bees are essential agricultural pollinators that are threatened by various interacting stressors, posing risks to beekeeping industries and human food security. Malnutrition is a major factor underlying managed bee colony losses that can be countered by feeding artificial diets, which aim to deliver essential macro- and micronutrients. Current bee nutritional supplements show room for improvement and require resources that compete with human food production. Algae and microalgae in particular have been gaining traction in the literature as alternative feed sources and nutritional supplements for livestock, including honey bees. Herein, we review the current literature and categorize the effects of …

Aboveground Carbon Responses To Experimental And Natural Hurricane Impacts In A Subtropical Wet Forest In Puerto Rico, Hervé Chevalier, Nicholas V.L. Brokaw, Sheila E. Ward, Jess K. Zimmerman, Aaron B. Shiels, John Bithorn, Samuel Matta Carmona

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Climate change and disturbance make it difficult to project long-term patterns of carbon sequestration in tropical forests, but large ecosystem experiments in these forests can inform predictions. The Canopy Trimming Experiment (CTE) manipulates two key components of hurricane disturbance, canopy openness and detritus deposition, in a tropical forest in Puerto Rico. We documented how the CTE and a real hurricane affected tree recruitment, biomass, and aboveground carbon storage over 15 years. In the CTE treatments, we trimmed branches, but we did not fell trees. We expected that during the 14-year period after initial canopy trimming, regrowth of branches and stems …

Exploration Of The Sludge Biodiesel Pathway, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wastewater sludge is an overlooked source of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) that could be converted into biodiesel. The United States produces about 8 million tons of sludge per year. The disposal cost for this amount of sludge is about 2 billion US dollars. The widespread availability and low cost of sludge compared to other biodiesel raw materials make it an economical choice for a renewable fuel. Using sludge as a raw material can produce 25 to 30 mg per gram of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME); the main component of biodiesel. Sludge biodiesel has the potential of transforming a …

Elucidating Sorghum Biomass, Nitrogen And Chlorophyll Contents With Spectral And Morphological Traits Derived From Unmanned Aircraft System, Jiating Li, Yeyin Shi, Arun-Narenthiran Veeranampalayam-Sivakumar, Daniel P. Schachtman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) provide an efficient way to phenotype cropmorphology with spectral traits such as plant height, canopy cover and various vegetation indices (VIs) providing information to elucidate genotypic responses to the environment. In this study, we investigated the potential use of UAS-derived traits to elucidate biomass, nitrogen and chlorophyll content in sorghum under nitrogen stress treatments. A nitrogen stress trial located in Nebraska, USA, contained 24 different sorghum lines, 2 nitrogen treatments and 8 replications, for a total of 384 plots. Morphological and spectral traits including plant height, canopy cover and various VIs were derived from UAS flights …

Biomass Production Of Herbaceous Energy Crops In The United States: Field Trial Results And Yield Potential Maps From The Multiyear Regional Feedstock Partnership, Dokyoung Lee, Ezra Aberle, Eric K. Anderson, William Anderson, Brian S. Baldwin, David D. Baltensperger, Michael Barrett, Jurg Blumenthal, Stacy Bonos, Joe Bouton, David I. Bransby, Charlie Brummer, Pane S. Burks, Chengci Chen, Christopher Daly, Jose Egenolf, Rodney L. Farris, John H. Fike, Roch E. Gaussoin, John R. Gill, Kenneth Gravois, Michael D. Halbleib, Anna Hale, Wayne Hanna, Keith Harmoney, Emily A. Heaton, Ron W. Heiniger, Lindsey Hoffman, Chang O. Hong, Gopal Kakani, Robert Kallenbach, Bisoondat Macoon, James C. Medley, Ali Missaoui, Robert B. Mitchell, Ken J. Moore, Jesse I. Morrison, Gary N. Odvody, Jonathan D. Richwine, Richard Ogoshi, Jimmy Ray Parrish, Lauren Quinn, Ed Richard, William L. Rooney, J. Brett Rushing, Ronnie Schnell, Matt Sousek, Scott A. Staggenborg, Thomas Tew, Goro Uehara, Donald R. Viands, Thomas Voigt, David Williams, Linda Williams, Lloyd Ted Wilson, Andrew Wycislo, Yubin Yang, Vance Owens

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Current knowledge of yield potential and best agronomic management practices for perennial bioenergy grasses is primarily derived from small-scale and short-term studies, yet these studies inform policy at the national scale. In an effort to learn more about how bioenergy grasses perform across multiple locations and years, the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE)/Sun Grant Initiative Regional Feedstock Partnership was initiated in 2008. The objectives of the Feedstock Partnership were to (1) provide a wide range of information for feedstock selection (species choice) and management practice options for a variety of regions and (2) develop national maps of potential feedstock …

Impacts Of Biomass Production At Civil Airports On Grassland Bird Conservation And Aviation Strike Risk, Tara J. Conkling, Jerrold L. Belant, Travis L. Devault, James A. Martin

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Growing concerns about climate change, foreign oil dependency, and environmental quality have fostered interest in perennial native grasses (e.g., switchgrass [Panicum virgatum]) for bioenergy production while also maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function. However, biomass cultivation in marginal landscapes such as airport grasslands may have detrimental effects on aviation safety as well as conservation efforts for grassland birds. In 2011–2013, we investigated effects of vegetation composition and harvest frequency on seasonal species richness and habitat use of grassland birds and modeled relative abundance, aviation risk, and conservation value of birds associated with biomass crops. Avian relative abundance was greater …

Genomic Prediction Accuracy For Switchgrass Traits Related To Bioenergy Within Differentiated Populations, Jason D. Fiedler, Christina Lanzatella, Serge J. Edme, Nathan A. Palmer, Gautam Sarath, Rob Mitchell, Christian M. Tobias

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Switchgrass breeders need to improve the rates of genetic gain in many bioenergy-related traits in order to create improved cultivars that are higher yielding and have optimal biomass composition. One way to achieve this is through genomic selection. However, the heritability of traits needs to be determined as well as the accuracy of prediction in order to determine if efficient selection is possible.

Results: Using five distinct switchgrass populations comprised of three lowland, one upland and one hybrid accession, the accuracy of genomic predictions under different cross-validation strategies and prediction methods was investigated. Individual genotypes were collected using GBS …

Improved Bulk Density Of Bamboo Pellets As Biomass For Energy Production, Zhijia Liu, Bingbing Mi, Zehui Jiang, Benhua Fei, Zhiyong Cai, Xing'e Liu

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

To the best of our knowledge, there is the lack of sufficient information concerning bamboo pellets. In the preliminary research, bamboo pellets showed a low bulk density which could not meet requirement of Pellet Fuels Institute Standard Specification for Residential/Commercial Densified (PFI). To improve its bulk density, pellets were manufactured using mixtures of bamboo and pine particles and the properties were investigated. It was found that adding pine particles to bamboo particles was an effective way to improve bulk density of bamboo pellets. When adding 40% pine particles to bamboo particles, bulk density of pellets increased from 0.54 …

Ecosystem Services Of Woody Crop Production Systems, Ronald S. Zalesny Jr., John A. Stanturf, Emile S. Gardiner, James H. Perdue, Timothy M. Young, David R. Coyle, William L. Headlee, Gary S. Bañuelos, Amir Hass

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

Short-rotation woody crops are an integral component of regional and national energy portfolios, as well as providing essential ecosystem services such as biomass supplies, carbon sinks, clean water, and healthy soils. We review recent USDA Forest Service Research and Development efforts from the USDA Biomass Research Centers on the provisioning of these ecosystem services from woody crop production systems. For biomass, we highlight productivity and yield potential, pest susceptibility, and bioenergy siting applications. We describe carbon storage in aboveground woody biomass and studies assessing the provision of clean and plentiful water. Soil protection and wildlife habitat are also mentioned, in …

Estimating Herbaceous Biomass Of Grassland Vegetation Using The Reference Unit Method, Eric D. Boyda, Jack L. Bulter, Lan Xu

The Prairie Naturalist

Aboveground net primary production provides valuable information on wildlife habitat, fire fuel loads, and forage availability. Aboveground net primary production in herbaceous plant communities is typically measured by clipping aboveground biomass. However, the high costs associated with physically harvesting plant biomass may prevent collecting sufficient data to account for natural spatial and temporal variability of vegetation at a landscape scale. Various double-sampling techniques have been developed to increase sample size while reducing cost. We applied a biomass estimation technique previously developed for estimating shrub biomass using representative samples or “reference units” to estimate herbaceous grassland biomass. Our reference units consisted …

Characterization Of Genetically Modified High Biomass Producing Tobacco Plant, Pankaj Singh Kuhar

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

Global warming and peak oil has clouded our energy security. In light of this situation, bioethanol as emerged as one of the most amenable solutions to the problem. However bioethanol has its own shortcomings and transgenics seem imperative to exploit its full potential. A high biomass producing line in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi) was identified during a routine genetic transformation, termed giant recombinant (GR). To characterize the phenotype of the giant line, growth rate and lignocellulosic composition was analyzed relative to the non-transgenic control line. The GR line accounted for 240% more biomass than the untransformed line …

Assessment Of A Rotenone Application Event At Mormon Island West Lake In Central Nebraska, Keith D. Koupal, Brian C. Peterson, Casey W. Schoenebeck

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Fisheries managers applied rotenone to Mormon Island West in August of 2010 to renovate a fish community that was hypothesized to be unbalanced (i.e., dominated with gizzard shad and common carp) based on standardized survey results. We estimated species-specific biomass following the lake renovation to provide a baseline biomass estimate for a sand pit lake and to evaluate the effectiveness of standardized sampling gears. Gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) were abundant in all sampling gears, but mostly stock-size (>175 mm total length) and larger individuals were caught in gill and trap nets and sub-stock (≤175 mm total length) …

Characterization Of Three Chlorella Sorokiniana Strains In Anaerobic Digested Effluent From Cattle Manure, Naoko Kobayashi, Eric A. Schacht, Austin Barnes, Andrea K. Watson, Julian N. Rosenberg, Galen Erickson, George A. Oyler

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Chlorella sorokiniana CS-01, UTEX 1230 and UTEX 2714 were maintained in 10% anaerobic digester effluent (ADE) from cattle manure digestion and compared with algal cultivation in Bold’s Basal Medium (BBM). Biomass of CS-01 and UTEX 1230 in ADE produced similar or greater than 280 mg/L after 21 days in BBM, however, UTEX 2714 growth in ADE was suppressed by more than 50% demonstrating a significant species bias to synthetic compared to organic waste-based media. The highest accumulation of protein and starch was exhibited in UTEX 1230 in ADE yielding 34% and 23% ash free dry weight (AFDW), respectively, though fatty …

The Feasibility Of Producing Adequate Feedstock For Year-Round Cellulosic Ethanol Production In An Intensive Agricultural Fuelshed, Daniel R. Uden, Robert B. Mitchell, Craig R. Allen, Qingfeng Guan, Tim D. Mccoy

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

To date, cellulosic ethanol production has not been commercialized in the United States. However, government mandates aimed at increasing second-generation biofuel production could spur exploratory development in the cellulosic ethanol industry. We conducted an in-depth analysis of the fuelshed surrounding a starch-based ethanol plant near York, Nebraska that has the potential for cellulosic ethanol production. To assess the feasibility of supplying adequate biomass for year-round cellulosic ethanol production from residual maize (Zea mays) stover and bioenergy switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) within a 40-km road network service area of the existing ethanol plant, we identified ∼14,000 ha of marginally productive cropland within …

The Influence Of Vertical And Horizontal Habitat Structure On Nationwide Patterns Of Avian Biodiversity, Patrick D. Culbert, Volker C. Radeloff, Curtis H. Flather, Josef M. Kellndorfer, Chadwick D. Rittenhouse, Anna M. Pidgeon

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

With limited resources for habitat conservation, the accurate identification of high-value avian habitat is crucial. Habitat structure affects avian biodiversity but is difficult to quantify over broad extents. Our goal was to identify which measures of vertical and horizontal habitat structure are most strongly related to patterns of avian biodiversity across the conterminous United States and to determine whether new measures of vertical structure are complementary to existing, primarily horizontal, measures. For 2,546 North American Breeding Bird Survey routes across the conterminous United States, we calculated canopy height and biomass from the National Biomass and Carbon Dataset (NBCD) as measures …

Grass And Canada Goldenrod (Solidago Canadensis) Competition And Implications For Management In The Northern Tallgrass Prairie, Alexander J. Smart, Gary E. Larson, Peter J. Bauman

The Prairie Naturalist

Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) is a native perennial forb that can form dense clonal patches and become weedy in pastures of the Northern Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion. Our objectives were to determine 1) the competitive effects between Canada goldenrod and grass, 2) the relationship between Canada goldenrod stem density and grass biomass, and 3) the distribution of Canada goldenrod stem density at the pasture scale. We used regression analysis to develop a relationship between Canada goldenrod stem density and grass biomass. Additionally, we estimated the frequency distribution of Canada goldenrod stem density categories using three evenly distributed 100 × 100-m …

Metabolic And Gene Expression Changes Triggered By Nitrogen Deprivation In The Photoautotrophically Grown Microalgae Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii And Coccomyxa Sp. C-169, Joseph Msanne, Di Xu, Anji Reddy Konda, J. Armando Casas-Mollano, Tala Awada, Edgar B. Cahoon, Heriberto Cerutti

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty and Staff Publications

Microalgae are emerging as suitable feedstocks for renewable biofuel production. Characterizing the metabolic pathways involved in the biosynthesis of energy-rich compounds, such as lipids and carbohydrates, and the environmental factors influencing their accumulation is necessary to realize the full potential of these organisms as energy resources. The model green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii accumulates significant amounts of triacylglycerols (TAGs) under nitrogen starvation or salt stress in medium containing acetate. However, since cultivation of microalgae for biofuel production may need to rely on sunlight as the main source of energy for biomass synthesis, metabolic and gene expression changes occurring in Chlamydomonas and …

The Effect Of Row Spacing And Seeding Rate On Biomass Production And Plant Stand Characteristics Of Non-Irrigated Photoperiod-Sensitive Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench), John L. Snider, Randy L. Raper, Eric B. Schwab

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

To evaluate row spacing and seeding rate effects on yield and plant stand characteristics of high-biomass sorghum, a photoperiod-sensitive cultivar was sown at three different row spacings (76, 38, and 19 cm) and seeding rates (218,000, 306,000, and 393,000 seeds ha⁻¹ for one site-year and 116,000, 204,000, and 291,000 seeds ha⁻¹ for three site-years) from 2009 to 2010 in Alabama and Arkansas, USA. Measurements included above-ground dry matter production, plant height, stem density, and stem diameter. Narrower row spacing (i.e. 19 cm) produced the highest biomass for all site-years. Increasing seeding rate did not affect yield for three …

Seed Reduction In Prairie Cordgrass, Spartina Pectinata Link., By The Floret-Feeding Caterpillar Aethes Spartinana (Barnes And Mcdunnough), Jarrad R. Prasifka, D. K. Lee, Jeffrey Bradshaw, Allen S. Parrish, Michael E. Gray

Panhandle Research and Extension Center

Insect damage to prairie cordgrass, Spartina pectinata Link., is conspicuously high in Illinois, where attempts to collect native seed show the majority of spikelets damaged with small holes. Dissection of spikes during summer reveals minute caterpillars boring though glumes and feeding on florets inside. In 2009–2010, panicles of prairie cordgrass from across its native range were used to estimate the percentage of insect-related damage and losses to seed production. Collections of caterpillars from panicles and stems were used to identify one floret-feeding species, estimate its distribution in the central USA, and assess its feeding patterns within spikes. Insect feeding damaged …

Effects Of Species, Water, And Nitrogen On Competition Among Three Prairie Grasses, Jerry L. Weatherford, Randall W. Myster

The Prairie Naturalist

We conducted an experiment to investigate effects of species, water (W), and nitrogen (N) on competition among little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), and indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans). All biomass parameters and the root:shoot ratio of little bluestem were reduced by the presence off 1 of 2 other species, and its shoot biomass and total biomass were both increased by addition of N. Root and shoot biomass of sideoats grama were reduced by the presence of indiangrass and its total biomass was reduced by the presence of itself, whereas its shoot biomass was increased by addition of W at …

Forest Structure And Aboveground Biomass In The Southwestern United States From Modis And Misr, Mark Chopping, Crystal B. Schaaf, Feng Zhao, Zhuosen Wang, Anne Nolin, Gretchen G. Moisen, John V. Martonchik, Michael Bull

USDA Forest Service / UNL Faculty Publications

Red band bidirectional reflectance factor data from the NASA MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired over the southwestern United States were interpreted through a simple geometric–optical (GO) canopy reflectance model to provide maps of fractional crown cover (dimensionless), mean canopy height (m), and aboveground woody biomass (Mg ha⁻¹) on a 250 m grid. Model adjustment was performed after dynamic injection of a background contribution predicted via the kernel weights of a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model. Accuracy was assessed with respect to similar maps obtained with data from the NASA Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) and to contemporaneous …

Stem-Boring Caterpillars Of Switchgrass In The Midwestern United States, Jarrad R. Prasifka, Jennifer E. Buhay, Thomas W. Sappington, Emily A. Heaton, Jeffrey Bradshaw, Michael E. Gray

Panhandle Research and Extension Center

Lepidopteran stem borers were collected from switchgrass, Panicum virgatum L., tillers showing symptoms of infestation at seven locations in Illinois and Iowa, with additional observations made on larval and adult activity. Blastobasis repartella (Dietz) (Coleophoridae), whose only known host is switchgrass, was common in plots grown for >5 yr, whereas the polyphagous stalk borer, Papaipema nebris (Guenée) (Noctuidae), was abundant in newly established (i.e., first- and second year) switchgrass. Haimbachia albescens Capps (Crambidae) was collected from two locations in Illinois, making switchgrass the first known host for this species. Entry holes made by B. repartella and H. albescens were usually …

Monitoring And Analyzing Process Streams Towards Understanding Ionic Liquid Pretreatment Of Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum L.), Rohit Arora, Chithra Manisseri, Chenlin Li, Markus D. Ong, Henrik Vibe Scheller, Kenneth P. Vogel, Blake A. Simmons, Seema Singh

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Fundamental understanding of biomass pretreatment and its influence on saccharification kinetics, total sugar yield, and inhibitor formation is essential to develop efficient next-generation biofuel strategies, capable of displacing fossil fuels at a commercial level. In this study, we investigated the effect of residence time and temperature during ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment of switchgrass using 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium acetate. The primary metrics of pretreatment performance are biomass delignification, xylan and glucan depolymerization, porosity, surface area, cellulase kinetics, and sugar yields. Compositional analysis and quantification of process streams of saccharides and lignin demonstrate that delignification increases as a function of pretreatment temperature and …

Descriptions Of Life-Stages Of Blastobasis Repartella (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea: Coleophoridae: Blastobasinae) And Observations On Its Biology In Switchgrass, D. Adamski, P. J. Johnson, A. A. Boe, Jeffrey Bradshaw, Alan Pultyniewicz

Panhandle Research and Extension Center

Blastobasis repartella (Dietz) is a borer in the proaxis and basal nodes and internodes of above ground stems of Panicum virgatum L. (Poaceae). The adult and immature stages are described herein, including diagnoses of the adult and larva, as this insect may be easily confused with a closely related grass-feeding congener, Blastobasis graminea Adamski, which is also known to occur in the United States. The biology of B. repartella is described. Figures of the adult, illustrations of the male and female genitalia, wing venation, the chaetotaxy of the larva (supplemented with scanning electron micrographs), and pupa are provided. Bassus difficilis …

Visualization Of Biomass Solubilization And Cellulose Regeneration During Ionic Liquid Pretreatment Of Switchgrass, Seema Singh, Blake A. Simmons, Kenneth P. Vogel

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Auto-fluorescent mapping of plant cell walls was used to visualize cellulose and lignin in pristine switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) stems to determine the mechanisms of biomass dissolution during ionic liquid pretreatment. The addition of ground switchgrass to the ionic liquid 1-n-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate resulted in the disruption and solubilization of the plant cell wall at mild temperatures. Swelling of the plant cell wall, attributed to disruption of inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonding between cellulose fibrils and lignin, followed by complete dissolution of biomass, was observed without using imaging techniques that require staining, embedding, and processing of biomass. Subsequent …

A Multiple Species Approach To Biomass Production From Native Herbaceous Perennial Feedstocks, J. L. Gonzalez-Hernandez, Gautam Sarath, J. M. Stein, V. Owens, K. Gedye, A. Boe

Gautam Sarath Publications

Due to the rapid rate of worldwide consumption of nonrenewable fossil fuels, production of biofuels from cellulosic sources is receiving increased research emphasis. Here, we review the feasibility to produce lignocellulosic biomass on marginal lands that are not well-suited for conventional crop production. Large areas of these marginal lands are located in the central prairies of North America once dominated by tallgrass species. In this article, we review the existing literature, current work, and potential of two native species of the tallgrass prairie, prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata), and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) as candidates for commercial production of …