North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station, Ames, Iowa : Presentations

"Genebanks: Not Just Seed and Plants"

Power Point Presentation, in PDF format, by Lisa Anne Burke.
A case study involving the material maintained at the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station Ames, Iowa and originating from the Oscar Will Seed Company of Bismarck, North Dakota, to demonstrate that a genebank is not only a reservoir for genetic material in the form of seeds and plants but also a reservoir for agricultural indigenous knowledge. Presented for as part of her creative component section of the Master of Agriculture: Professional Agriculture, April 16, 2010. Complete written report.

"Developing a Coordinated Plan for Ash Seed Collection in North America"

Power Point Presentation, in PDF format, by Dr. Mark P. Widrlechner and Jeffrey D. Carstens.
Presented at the 20th USDA Interagency Research Forum on Invasive Species in Annapolis, MD,
January 15, 2009.

"Geographic Analysis and Exploration in the South Central United States"

Power Point Presentation by Dr. Mark P. Widrlechner.
Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Plant Collecting Collaborative in Saint Louis, 9 April 2003.

"Cross-Compatibility of Cultivated AmaranthusGrain Lines with Wild AmaranthusSpecies"

Poster 1234a Session No. 275
American Society of Agronomy Meetings
4-6:00 PM Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Indianapolis, IN
David Brenner
Email: dbrenner@iastate.edu

Abstract: Cross-Compatibility of Cultivated AmaranthusGrain Lines with Wild AmaranthusSpecies.

David Brenner, North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station, Iowa State Univ. G212 Agronomy Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1170 and Micheal Owen, Iowa St. Univ.-Dept. of Agronomy, 2104 Agronomy Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1010

The cultivated grain amaranth species (Amaranthus caudatus, A. cruentus, and A. hypochondriacus) have pollination cross-compatibility with wild Amaranthusspecies. The resulting hybrid progeny create difficulty in the maintenance of genetically clean seed stocks for commercial agricultural use. There is potential for plant breeders to select for cultivars that minimize cross-compatibility with wild Amaranthusspecies, resulting in cultivars that are easier to maintain genetically. Progress on improving the genetic purity of commercial amaranth varieties will depend on the development of practical out-crossing assessments for breeding lines with wild Amaranthusspecies. We propose systematic evaluation of Amaranthusgrain lines for cross-compatibility with common Amaranthusweed species. In 2005 we produced seed lots contaminated by pollen primarily from weedy Amaranthus tuberculatusplants under defined field conditions. Populations grown from these seed lots were visually inspected for weedy-hybrid off-type plants. Weedy-hybrid progeny were 20% of PI 538321 (n= 40), 9% of PI 558499 (n= 153), and 2.8% of PI 604461 (n= 209). Surprisingly PI 538327 (n= 246) progeny were not contaminated. These preliminary data support the hypothesis that useful differences in out-crossing rates exist, and that development of commercial cultivars with minimal out-crossing potential is feasible.