Genetics of Axillary Branching in Little Bluestem.

Little bluestem [Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash] was the most important dominant of uplands in the natural tallgrass prairie. Presently, it is a dominant, most significantly on coarse-textured soils, in the mixed-grass prairie region. This wide adaptation to dry and shallow soils suggests it has potential for biomass feedstock production in areas unsuitable for most other grass species in the North American steppe. Axillary branches are an important component of biomass in the upper aerial phytomers of little bluestem Objectives of this research were to (i) describe the pattern of axillary branching and determine genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity for branching in 20 genotypes of Camper little bluestem. Differences were found among genotypes for number of phytomers (i.e., primary) with axillary branches and for secondary and higher orders of branching.