U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Forage and Range Research: Logan, UT
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Pacific West Area Logan, Utah Forage and Range Research People





- Find a person
- Find a location
- ARS Organizational Chart
- People
- Contact Information
- Research Projects
- Publications

Kevin B Jensen    Research Geneticist (Plants) Kevin B. Jensen, PhDForage & Range Research LabUtah State UniversityLogan, UT 84322-6300(435) 797-3099Kevin.Jensen@ars.usda.govPreface
U.S. Western rangelands are often severely disturbed by fires, erosion, and invasive weed infestation. Re-seeding these disturbed rangelands with genetically improved plant materials is often the most plausible and economically feasible way to reclaim such sites. The FRRL is developing improved rangeland grasses, legumes, and forbs to meet this demand to ensure rangeland biodiversity and revegetation success.
Project Description
Biosystematic, taxonomic, and applied plant breeding research are used to develop improved plant materials on a broad spectrum of species. Research follows three basic phases:
acquisition and characterization of germplasm representative from around the world
inter-genetic and inter-specific hybridization is utilized to broaden the genetic base of rangeland and pasture plants
develop an array of improved grasses for upgrading private and public lands in the Western U.S.
The project has three main objectives:
To develop wheatgrass (crested, Siberian, and Snake River wheatgrass), and wildrye (Russian, Basin, and Salina wildrye) cultivars with increased germination, seedling establishment, biomass, and persistence that are better able to compete against undesirable weedy species in disturbed dryland environments.
To develop improved irrigated pasture grasses (meadow bromegrass and orchardgrass) that exhibit increased carrying capacity on irrigated and semi-irrigated pastures. Traits of interest include forage production, quality (WSC), tolerance to grazing, and performance under reduced irrigation.
Plant improvement will be carried out using traditional phenotypic recurrent selection and wide hybridization. The development of these plant materials will provide the land managers/ranchers with a cadre of plant materials increasing biodiversity and increasing the sustainability of Western rangelands.Forage and Range Research Laboratory


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov