Conservation Efforts Aided by New Legume

Reseeding efforts are routine in the Great Basin. While they are necessary to combat the losses of flora in the region, the have failed to address the demand for native legumes. Legumes add nitrogen to the soil, provide a valuable source of food for foragers, and can sustain pollinators. The high cost yet low quality of available legumes and lack of experience in reseeding efforts have been blamed for their absence.

In a study partially funded by the Great Basin Restoration Initiative, scientists at the USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research Lab made 20 collections of Searls prairie clover in an attempt to characterize their potential for agronomic seed production, flowering date and biomass, inherent population relationships, and phenotypic correlation with climate conditions at the collection sites.

The analysis of data gathered at the collection sites found tremendous variation in the observed traits within and among the populations. Nevertheless, researchers discovered that precipitation amounts were related to the potential seed yield and biomass. From this data, seed release strategies were developed and will soon be implemented first at a site in northwestern Utah followed by others.

Shaun Bushman, the author of the study, explained, “This study is paving the way toward agronomic seed production in Searls prairie clover by identifying populations and traits that must be considered for economical and efficient seed production. Additionally, it will allow for germplasm releases to target environments and demographic histories of this species such that the plants will be used in locations to which they are likely adapted. Germplasm development and further studies concerning agronomic practices are underway.”

Results from the study are published in the April 2011 issue of Crop Science.

The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the date of this summary. View the abstract at www.crops.org/publications/cs/abstracts/51/2/716.

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