Kernza bread made for CSA customers from Wide Awake Bakery in Trumansburg, New York.
Photo: Sandra Wayman
Corresponding author Eugene Law in the Section of Soil and Crop Sciences at Cornell University, has provided a series of tweets summarizing the new paper:
New IWG/#Kernza paper in Agronomy Journal comparing agronomic productivity and weed communities in annual and perennial small grains. (1/4) https://t.co/tO9oINetGq
— Eugene Law (@AgSystemScience) January 3, 2022
This research represents a first step in developing organic, perennial cropping systems in the Northeast U.S. Kernza, a brand name for Thinopyrum intermedium, a domesticated version of intermediate wheatgrass developed by scientists at the nonprofit Land Institute – has led researchers to explore dual uses to increase profitability, such as using the plants as forage for animals. Perennial grains like Kernza develop large root systems that help prevent erosion, don’t require annual tilling, and store carbon in the soil, an important boon for climate mitigation.
JOURNAL ARTICLE: Law, Eugene P., et al. “Intercropping red clover with intermediate wheatgrass suppresses weeds without reducing grain yield.” AGRONOMY JOURNAL (2021).