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Initial seeds were collected from various locations across Minnesota, the Midwest, Canada, South America and Europe and planted in the fall of 2013. Seventy unique individual plants will be grown in single 5 ft. rows in two replications and only plants that exhibit early maturity, high yield, large amounts of biomass and winter hardiness will be used in future research.

Data collected from the initial planting included vigor, percent germination, percent flowering, number of days to maturity, percent winter survival, yield, and basal width (as a measure of above-ground biomass and soil coverage).

Breeding for early maturity

Plants will be assessed for:

• Number of days to first flower
• Number of days to complete maturity as defined by dried seed pods

Plants selected for further trials will be those that express early maturity.

Breeding for high yield

Individual plant rows will be hand-cut and allowed time to dry before the seed is harvested. Evaluation of total seed yield will be on a per row basis.

Breeding for large basal width to provide maximum crop water use

Researchers will:

• Select plants expressing a large basal width and use them in agronomic and yield trials
• Plant the top 5 performers from the agronomic and yield trials to evaluate crop water usage based on soil water content and soil sample data at specific times throughout the plant’s life cycle

Plants selected for further trials will be those that express large basal width and maximum crop water usage.

Breeding for winter hardiness

Plants per row will be counted in the fall and compared to plant counts in the spring as a measure for winter hardiness.

Plants selected for further trials will be those that express superior winter hardiness.

Developing a model for gene selection

Gene sequence data and yield data from field trials will be used to create a model that will allow for the prediction of overall plant performance when two individual plants are crossed. The model will allow the plant breeder to select the best performing plants, with the best traits, and thus will increase the efficiency of future breeding programs because the model takes a lot of the “guess-work” out of plant breeding.

Within three years the following items will be completed:

• Seed stock from the five field pennycress lines that were identified for expressing early maturity, high yield, large basal width (crop water use efficiency), and superior winter hardiness.
• In conjunction with Forcella et al. (another Clean Water funded project), conclusive evidence on the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus uptake by field pennycress and amount of nutrient loss due to water runoff.
• A peer-reviewed journal article on desirable field pennycress traits for cover crop and oilseed production and one peer-reviewed journal article on field pennycress varieties that are viable agronomic options for double-cropping.
• A gene selection model specifically targeted towards seed yield

Farmers:

• The University of Minnesota Research and Outreach Centers will host three field days focusing on the field pennycress double-crop system. The locations include Morris, Lamberton, and Waseca.
• Development and distribution of a field pennycress grower’s guide on how and when to plant field pennycress.

Students:

• Support of a postdoctoral research associate who will be directly involved in the field pennycress research.
• Host on-campus seminars for students and the public to attend

Scientific community:

• Publication of peer-reviewed journal articles
• Presentations at scientific meetings