Details for: PI 700112, Andropogon gerardi Vitman, 'Empire'


Summary Data
Taxonomy:
Andropogon gerardi Vitman
Cultivar:
'Empire'
Origin:
Developed – Wisconsin, United States
Received by NPGS:
15 Apr 2022
Form Received:
Seed
Availability
FormQuantityNoteInventoryCart
Seed200 countPI 700112 CR01 SD
 
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Core Passport Data
Taxonomy:
Andropogon gerardi Vitman
Cultivar:
'Empire'
Origin:
Developed – Wisconsin, United States
Received by NPGS:
15 Apr 2022
Form Received:
Seed
Source History
Developed

Wisconsin, United States

Developer(s):
Accession Names and Identifiers
'Empire'
Type: Cultivar name

Narrative
Empire big bluestem is a 54-clone synthetic selected for high biomass yield. Empire is broadly adapted to USDA hardiness zones 3 through 7, ranging from the Great Plains to the Eastern USA. While Empire was developed as a high-biomass cultivar for use in establishing perennial biomass production for conversion to bioenergy, it has a heading date similar to many other big bluestem cultivars, suggesting that it could be used as a forage crop as well, for either hay or pasture production. Under an optimal single-harvest biomass production management, Empire ranked #1 in biomass yield for eight of 12 locations in multiple-year trials, averaged over a total of 40 environments (location-trial-years). Biomass yield of Empire, averaged over 12 locations, was 30% higher than for Goldmine, 46% higher than for Champ, and 52% higher than for Bonanza. Ground cover of Empire was slightly higher than for most check cultivars, averaging 80% across all 12 locations. Empire is broadly adapted to USDA hardiness zones 3 to 6, extending from the Great Plains to the Eastern USA, and was released to the public by the USDA-ARS in 2021.
Andropogon gerardi Vitman
Genus:
Andropogon
Family:
Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)
Subfamily:
Panicoideae
Tribe:
Andropogoneae
Subtribe:
Andropogoninae
Nomen number:

3215
Place of publication:

Summa pl. 6:16. 1792
Comment:
the original spelling is permissible under Shenzhen ICN Rec. 60C.2, since the given name Gerard or Gérard, which dates at least to the Early Middle Ages when Latin was the international language of Europe, has a well-established latinized form and is not correctable under Shenzhen ICN Art. 60.8
Verified:
07/11/1997 by ARS Systematic Botanists.
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Autonym(s)
Andropogon gerardi Vitman subsp. gerardi
Andropogon gerardi Vitman var. gerardi

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Andropogon furcatus Muhl. ex Willd.

Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
Englishbig bluestem  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Englishturkeyfoot  11961. Webster's third new international dictionary.
Frenchbarbon de Gerard  2Campbell, C. S. 1993-. In: FNA Editorial Committee, Flora of North America. 25:653. Note: as "Andropogon gerardii"
Spanishpopotillo gigante  2Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Annotations
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Citations
Pedigree
Description:
Empire big bluestem originated from a large evaluation nursery of 67 accessions, or cultivars, established from glasshouse-grown seedlings in May 2008. The nursery was located near Arlington, WI. Plants in the nursery were scored as having desirable levels of the following three traits in September 2009 and 2010: late flowering, tallness, and high biomass production. Based on these scores in both years, 54 plants were selected, representing 15 big bluestem accessions of diverse origin (Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). Selected plants were dug up in April 2011, split into four ramets and transplanted into a randomized complete block design crossing block in Champaign, IL. Seed was produced on all plants in October 2011. Seeds were threshed, cleaned, and bulked in equal quantities across all 54 genotypes to create Empire, which was tested under the name WBB11L.
Intellectual Property Rights
Journal of Plant Registration. CV-18, BLUESTEM. Issued: 01 May 2023.
  • Lee, D. K. & M. D. Casler. 2023. Registration of 'Empire' Big Bluestem. J. Pl. Registr. 17(2):223. DOI: 10.1002/plr2.20280.