Thinopyrum intermedium, known commonly as intermediate wheatgrass,[1] is a sod-forming perennial grass in the Triticeae tribe of Pooideae native to Europe and Western Asia.
[3] Trials with intermediate wheatgrass, the product of which is trademarked by the Land Institute as "Kernza", show that it can be grown as a "multi-functional" crop, yielding various commodities as well as ecosystem services.
Multiple species or subspecies have been described based on different morphologies, like if parts of the plants are pubescent (that is, covered with "hairs") or not.
[citation needed] Wild triga is the common name that was given to Thinopyrum intermedium by researchers at The Rodale Institute.
Because it heads relatively late, it can be grown effectively in mixture with alfalfa to increase its productivity, longevity, and forage quality.
[citation needed] Habitat for wildlife - intermediate wheatgrass can be an excellent food source for grazing and browsing animals.
It establishes quickly to form a protective mat of roots and rhizomes, even when planted on soils degraded by earth moving or mining.
Within five years, stands have produced up to 7,000 pounds per acre (7,800 kg/ha) of dry root mass in the top 8 inches (20 cm) of soil.
[11] Intermediate wheatgrass is nutritionally similar to wheat, and the grain can be ground into flour and used for food products, including muffins, tortillas, pancakes, cookies, crackers, bread, beer and whisky.
The wide row spacing (relative to grain crops like wheat) allows for sustained seed yields for five to ten years.
Without spacing and occasional tillage between the rows, yields decline rapidly as the plant population becomes increasingly dense through rhizome spread.
[14] Intermediate wheatgrass, Thinopyrum intermedium, has been widely hybridized with wheat in the effort to transfer traits such as disease resistance or perenniality.
[16] But, attempts to directly domesticate the species into a grain crop did not commence until workers at the Rodale Research Center began to evaluate collections in 1983.
Again the best 50 plants were selected, this time based on yield per head, seed size, shortness, and free-threshing ability.
The first is dwarfing, which results in stems about 30 centimetres (1 ft 0 in) shorter than wild-type plants and short, erect leaves.
[22] There's evidence that T. intermedium also has resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus, the Aceria tosichella mite, Barley yellow dwarf, and others.
However, crosses between durum wheat and T. intermedium have resulted in hybrids that do exhibit perenniality in addition to other desired characteristics (increased vigor, hardiness in colder weather, good yield).
[27] Heavy infestation can reduce seed production and coupled with unfavourable conditions lead to plant mortality.
Thinopyrum intermedium is a perennial plant, which means that usual methods of disease management used for annual grain production might not be applicable and efficient.
Comparing Kernza to white[clarification needed] wheat berries, calcium contents are 4.8 times higher and iron values are more than double.
However, there are still field trials being done to examine nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilisation rates and application timing to maximize grain and forage yields.