Water Use Efficiency by Switchgrass Compared to a Native Grass or a Native Grass Alfalfa Mixture
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Water Use Efficiency by Switchgrass Compared to a Native Grass or a Native Grass Alfalfa Mixture J. R. Hendrickson & M. R. Schmer & M. A. Sanderson
Published online: 15 January 2013 # Springer Science+Business Media New York (outside the USA) 2013
Abstract Perennial grass systems are being evaluated as a bioenergy feedstock in the northern Great Plains. Inter-annual and inter-seasonal precipitation variation in this region will require efficient water use to maintain sufficient yield production to support a mature bioenergy industry. Objectives were to evaluate the impact of a May–June (early season) and a July–August (late season) drought on the water use efficiency (WUE), amount of water used, and biomass production in monocultures of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) Á. Löve), and a western wheatgrass–alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) mixture using an automated rainout shelter. WUE was strongly driven by biomass accumulation and ranged from 5.6 to 7.4 g biomass mm−1 water for switchgrass to 1.06 to 2.07 g biomass mm−1 water used with western wheatgrass. Timing of water stress affected WUE more in western wheatgrass and the western wheatgrass–alfalfa mixture than switchgrass. Water deficit for the western wheatgrass–alfalfa mixture was 23 % lower than western wheatgrass (P=0.0045) and 31 % lower than switchgrass (P
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