Selection for Winter Survivorship in Lowland Switchgrass

Development of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as a sustainable biomass crop for conversion to bioenergy requires substantial increases in biomass yield. Because switchgrass is highly photoperiodic, one approach toward this goal is to collect germplasm populations from the Southern USA, then screen and select them in northern environments where they represent a delay in flowering time of up to 6 weeks compared with local ecotypes. This delay...