Recent evidence associates the persistence of invasive plant species with disturbance and fluctuations in distinct forms of mineral N in soils. We conducted soil and hydroponic experiments to investigate the influence of N form and availability on germination and seedling development of 2 invasive annual grasses, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) and 6 per...

The ecological benefits of a roadside native perennial grass stand are :ompromised when invasive species become estab· lished. We evaluated the potential to regenerate existing native perennial grass stand5 populat~d with yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) on a roadside planting in the lowland hills of t1e interior Coast Range of northern California. The experiment was designed to dete...

Grass selections including 10 zoysiagrasses, 18 paspalums, 34 Bermuda grasses, tall fescue, creeping red fescue, and perennial ryegrasses with and without endophyte were evaluated for potential resistance to fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), larvae. Laboratory evaluations assessed the degree of antibiosis among >70 grass lines to first-instar fall armvworms. When all parameter...

Most important food and feed crops in the world belong to the C3 grass family. The future of food security is highly reliant on achieving genetic gains of those grasses. Conventional breeding methods have already reached a plateau for improving major crops. Genomics tools and resources have opened an avenue to explore genome-wide variability and make use of the variation for enhancing genetic g...

Changes in the vegetation of Flat Top Hill, a highly modified conservation area in semi-arid Central Otago, New Zealand, are described four years after the cessation of sheep and rabbit grazing. Unusually moist weather conditions coincide with the four-year period of change in response to the cessation of grazing. Between 1993 and 1997, the average richness and diversity (H’) of species increas...

In recent years there has been significant interest in harvesting renewable fuels and value-added chemicals from plant feedstocks, especially from perennial grasses such as Arundo donax L. [1, 2, 3]. Some reasons why perennial grasses are desirable as next-generation bioenergy feedstock are: (i) their low soil management requirements and growth on marginal land; (ii) their ability to prevent so...

In this study, perennial fast growth Napier grass fibers were used for pulp and papermaking. Chlorination and alkaline process were carried using sodium chlorite and sodium hydroxide respectively for pulp extraction from Napier grass. Detailed chemical composition of the Napier grass fibers and the extracted pulp was carried out and a comparison with other perennial grasses made. The extracted ...