Restoring Native Legumes/Plants to Preserve Perenniality and Viability in Minnesota Agriculture (Renewal)
Native Legumes - 2004
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"Our soil and climate can successfully grow many crops but it is the development of new uses and markets that is key to having producers incorporate third crops into their cropping system."
Linda Meschke, Executive Director, Blue Earth River Basin Initiative
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Background
Greater use of native warm-season legumes and grasses in Minnesota’s cropping systems would dramatically reduce the environmental degradation caused by annual cropping systems that currently dominate the landscape. Illinois bundleflower (IBF) is a native warm-season perennial legume with considerable food, nutriceutical, and feed (forage and grain) potential; but scientific information on its management and potential uses has been limited. To develop IBF and other native species as alternative crops, with previous year’s RARF funding, researchers have determined the seed quality, yield, and swine feeding value, and N fixation potential and forage yield of Illinois bundleflower under Minnesota conditions. Researchers have begun to assess the anti-oxidant, fiber, nutriceutical and anti-microbial potential of a broader range of native plant species. This renewal funding of the project will help chart the next steps towards re-introduction of native plant species as viable perennial components of Minnesota’s agricultural systems.
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Objectives
1. Determine the animal performance potential of Illinois bundleflower forage and seed.
2. Characterize the antioxidant activity, anti-microbial activity, essential oil content, and commercial product potential of seed and herbage of diverse plants native to Minnesota.
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Work Plan
To achieve Objective 1, a dairy cattle grazing trial will be continued at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris. Two replicated feeding trials will be conducted at the Southern Research and Outreach Center in Waseca to evaluate the nutritional characteristics of Illinois bundleflower seed for inclusion in swine diets. A feeding trial will be conducted at the Poultry Teaching and Research Center, St. Paul Campus, to evaluate the potential of Illinois bundleflower seed for inclusion in feed for organic chicken meat production. In May 2002, field trials were seeded at St. Paul and at the West Central Research and Outreach Center and at three collaborating farms in southeastern and western Minnesota. A regrowth harvest will be obtained in September 2003. Forage and biomass yield, forage quality, species composition, and persistence will be determined. Two establishment weed control strategies are being tested on farms. New trials evaluating the relative weed control effectiveness of imazapic, imazamox, and imazathapry, applied either pre-or post-emergence, during establishment of 6 native species will be initiated.
To achieve Objective 2; researchers will continue antioxidant analysis of native plant species. Detailed analysis, including exhaustive alkaline, acidic, and enzymatic extractions will be conducted on Illinois bundleflower to fully characterize the compounds responsible for the antioxidant activity of the plant. The high antioxidant fractions from Illinois bundleflower, like wheat and corn bran, may also have anti-microbial activity. The anti-microbial properties of both crude tissue extracts and refined antioxidant extracts from seeds will be determined. Extracts will be prepared from seeds, leaves, and roots of 20 perennial plants native to Minnesota. The discovery of natural anti-microbial compounds in forage may also decrease the use of standard antibiotics in animal feed. Researchers will also determine the essential oils content of at least 50 perennial forages and grasses native to Minnesota, and, working with AVEDA Corporation, assess the potential commercial value of the essential oils extracted and purified from native plants.
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