U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
11-21-2022
Citation
Clemensen, A. K., Lee, S. T., Mitchell, R. B., Schmer, M. R., & Masterson, S. D. (2023). Steroidal saponin concentrations in switchgrass cultivars Liberty and Independence in North America. Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management, 9, e20204. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.20204
Abstract
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a warm-season grass native to the tallgrass prairie in North America with various ecosystem benefits. Depending on management, switchgrass can increase soil organic carbon (C), enhancing C sequestration potential in soil (Jin et al., 2019). Various biotic factors such as insect infestation and disease are associated with switchgrass, but switchgrass appears to be resistant to many of these biotic stresses, with insect densities rarely accumulating to numbers large enough to require insecticide inputs (Vogel et al., 2010). These resilient qualities of switchgrass may be due to the steroidal saponins produced by the grass (Li et al., 2022). Steroidal saponins are plant secondary metabolites in the group of terpenes. Terpenes are compounds classified by the number of five-carbon isoprene units forming, for example, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and diterpenes. Steroidal saponins are triterpenes that have antibacterial and antifungal characteristics (Smolander et al., 2012). In addition, terpenes from plants may increase soil microbial biomass, decrease soil net nitrogen (N) mineralization, (Smolander et al., 2012) and are also surfactants, which may increase water holding capacity in soil (Oleszek & Hamed, 2010). Switchgrass cultivars Liberty and Independence are two prominent bioenergy switchgrass cultivars for the Great Plains and Midwest. However, steroidal saponin concentration in these two cultivars has This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. © 2022 The Authors. Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management © 2022 American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America. not been investigated. In order to pursue research on the potential effects steroidal saponins from these two cultivars may have on soil nutrient and water dynamics, seasonal forage use, and/or pest resistance, determining the relative concentration of steroidal saponins was needed. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the relative steroidal saponin concentration in leaf and stem tissues from both Liberty and Independence switchgrass.
Comments
Open access.