Abstract
Ravenna grass (Tripidium ravennae) is a tall robust bunchgrass with potential as an energy crop. The aim was to investigate the variation of agronomic traits of Ravenna grass. Univariate analyses of traits were conducted on 95 plants from 2013 to 2017. The traits were: biomass yield per plant; C, N, and ash concentrations; leaf and culm sap sucrose concentrations; percentage seed set, and the number of caryopses per panicle. In 2013, the biomass yield averaged 0.21 ± 0.09 kg per plant (mean ± the standard deviation). In 2014 to 2017, the yield averaged from 3.9 ± 0.8 kg per plant to 7.5 ± 1.8 kg per plant. Carbon concentration was generally higher than other energy crops, while N and ash concentrations were generally lower. Leaf sap sucrose ranged from 24.4 ± 4.6 g kg−1 in 2016 to 41.6 ± 7.6 g kg−1 in 2013. Culm sap sucrose varied from approximately 1.6 to 2.1 times that of leaf sap depending upon the harvest year. The percentage seed set varied between years ranging from 37.2 ± 12.4% to 56.6 ± 9.8%, and the mean number of caryopses per panicle varied from 4,770 ± 2,000 to 11,470 ± 3,075.
Highlights
Ravenna grass (Tripidium ravennae) is a tall robust bunchgrass indigenous to North Africa, temperate and tropical Asia, and southern Europe [1,2]
The first known accession of Ravenna grass entered into the U.S National Plant Germplasm System germplasm collection was Plant Introduction (PI 78779)
Seed production of Ravenna grass is relatively low, under favorable conditions it is capable of producing in excess of 10,000 viable seeds per panicle that are dispersed by wind and/or water contributing to its ease of escaping cultivation [4,11]
Summary
Ravenna grass (Tripidium ravennae) is a tall robust bunchgrass indigenous to North Africa, temperate and tropical Asia, and southern Europe [1,2]. The first known accession of Ravenna grass entered into the U.S National Plant Germplasm System germplasm collection was Plant Introduction (PI 78779). It was entered on 4 February, 1929, from a collection made in the Democratic Republic of Georgia [2]. The primary uses of Ravenna grass have been for ornamental landscape plantings [4,5], livestock forage in its first year of growth [1], genetic investigations [6], gene sources for improving sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) [7], and investigations into its agronomic and biomass potential [8,9,10,11]. Seed production of Ravenna grass is relatively low, under favorable conditions it is capable of producing in excess of 10,000 viable seeds per panicle that are dispersed by wind (anemochory) and/or water (hydrochory) contributing to its ease of escaping cultivation [4,11]
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