Issue (Who cares and why?)
Native seed production is a viable alternative crop for many Nevada agriculture producers with dwindling irrigation water resources. This project will provide the initial steps for developing a product that can serve as an alternative crop for a fledgling Nevada native seed industry. This is a long-term project with Bureau of Land Management to develop native seed from Northern Nevada for Nevada that can be used in fire rehabilitation efforts once quantities are commercially available.
What has been done?
Four wild grasses (two varieties of basin wild rye, creeping wild rye, & needle-and-thread grass) were collected form field populations. The seed production of each type of grass was tested against commercial varieties for performance. A promising variety of basin wild rye (Gund) was expanded to a 25 acre. Seed were then provided to the Aberdeen Plant Materials Center and to the Lab in Logan, UT for performance comparisons with commercial available Indian ricegrass.
Impact
The Aberdeen Plant Materials Center field trials on this promising Gund variety of basin wild rye unfortunately showed a lower potential for growth and production when compared to commercial cultivars like Indian ricegrass. However, the Gund variety does appear to perform better under drought and saline conditions typical of Northern Nevada – a fact not lost on many of Nevada’s government agencies. Bureau of Land Management and Natural Resource Conservation Service have been briefed on the potential of the Gund variety. Though not as vigorous a grower as Indian ricegrass over 1,000 lbs of seed was produced from research plots in 2006 and is now being made available for growers in 2007.