With the potential to grow as tall as the average farmer and with roots that stretch deep into the soil, grouse needle grass will be released as a Canadian variety within the next two years.
The plant reaches two metres only under the right moisture conditions, but it easily grows to a metre under the wrong ones.
“It’s ideal for land reclamation or for seeding into pasture. It establishes well on steep slopes and does well in arid conditions,” said native plant researcher Jay Woosaree of the Alberta Research Council.
Read Also
VIDEO: Green Lightning and Nytro Ag win sustainability innovation award
Nytro Ag Corp and Green Lightning recieved an innovation award at Ag in Motion 2025 for the Green Lightning Nitrogen Machine, which converts atmospheric nitrogen into a plant-usable form.
“It is self-seeding and establishes very easily. We have collected the grass and by selecting only for germination, we have a variety that is over 60 percent (in germination) …. Very high for a native species … yet it yields biomass of more than (2,000 pounds per acre) even under typical pasture land conditions.”
Woosaree said plants will survive for up to a decade, outliving many shorter, less productive species by as many as five years.
He said its agronomic needs are minimal, but like most cereals, yields are increased through fertilization.
“As pasture or hay you could get eight to 10 years from it if you fertilize at four years,” he said.
“It is a great mix with fescues and other wild species. The extensive roots add biomass to the soil, anchoring it in easily eroded land … and it is very palatable for livestock.”
However, Woosaree and other Canadian grass breeders and researchers say ethanol based on biomass from Canadian domestic grass species, such as grouse needle grass, has potential that hasn’t been well identified.
“All we hear about is switchgrass for biofuels. In Canada we have native species that will outperform switchgrass from the United States and other parts of the world,” said Woosaree.
He said the Canadian environment has done a good job over thousands of years of adapting grasses through natural selection to perform well in the sometimes harsh Canadian prairie weather.
“If you add to the genetics some good agronomic practices and favourable amounts of water, you can get large amounts of production,” he said.
Woosaree said Brett Young Seeds of Winnipeg will add grouse needle grass to its line of soil reclamation and native prairie grasses.
The Alberta Research Council is one of Canada’s only organizations developing native plant varieties.
