Loren Stephens

Current Research

Inflorescence culture of ornamental indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans)

Ethidium bromide has proven to be an effective mutagen in indiangrass inflorescence culture. Two mutants of horticultural interest are being evaluated as new cultivar introductions. 'Bantam' is a dwarf selection with a mature height of 90 to 120 cm, about 2/3 of normal mature height. The mature height is very uniform in any given year, but will vary from year to year, depending on site and growing conditions. 'Redspike' is a red-flowered selection.

Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) breeding, genetics, and propagation

An inbred line of E. purpurea has been created, which is maintainable by crossing two self-incompatible but cross-compatible sibling selections. This inbred line should be useful for producing vigorous, uniform seed-produced hybrids and for mapping genes of interest within the E. purpurea genome.

Clonal propagation of rusty blackhaw viburnum (Viburnum rufidulum)

Two methods have proven successful for clonally propagating V. rufidulum 'Ames 25098', an ISU seedling selection with unusually shiny foliage and excellent cold hardiness. Semi-hardwood cuttings stuck in early fall have rooted well. Chip-budding 'Ames 25098' onto a clonal V. lantana rootstock in the spring has been very successful as an alternative method for propagating this clonal selection.

Selected Publications

 

  • Stephens LC. 2009. 'Bantam' and 'Redspike' indiangrass. HortSci 45: in press.

  • Stephens LC. 2009. Ethidium bromide-induced mutations from inflorescence cultures of indiangrass. HortSci 44:1215-1218.

  • Stephens LC. 2008. Self-incompatibility in Echinacea purpurea. HortSci 43:1350-1354.

  • Stephens LC, Fei S-Z, Xiong Y, Hodges CF. 2006. Plants regenerated from embryo cultures of an apomictic clone of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L. ‘Baron’) are not apomictic in origin. Euphytica 147:383-388.

  • Stephens LC. 2006. Chapter 7: Ageratum, Ageratum houstonianum. In: Flower Breeding and Genetics: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities for the 21st Century. Editor NO Anderson, pp. 219-223. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

  • Liu T-HA, Stephens LC, Hannapel DJ. 2001. Transgenic Solanum brevidens. In: Biotechnology in Agriculture and Forestry 48:359-371. Editor: YPS Bajaj, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, New York.

  • Hodges CF, Stephens LC, Campbell DA. 1999. Ethylene and ethane production from Poa pratensis callus and from leaf blades of regenerated and seed-derived plants inoculated with Bipolaris sorokiniana. J Plant Physiol 154/1:113-118.

  • Stephens LC. 1998. Pollen fertility among BC2 offspring of Impatiens interspecific hybrids of New Guinea and Indonesian ancestry. Euphytica 103:219-222.

  • Stephens LC. 1998. Formation of unreduced pollen by an Impatiens hawkeri x platypetala interspecific hybrid. Hereditas 128:251-255.

Loren Stephens Bio