Lawrence B. Smart
Associate Professor

Address, Phone, Fax

E-Mail: lbs33@cornell.edu

PhD 1992 Michigan State University, Genetics
BS 1987 Cornell University, Biology (Genetics)

Division of Effort
Research - 75%
Teaching - 25%

View CV (pdf)

Breeding and genomics of shrub willow bioenergy crops
There are great opportunities to grow dedicated bioenergy crops on more than 1 million acres of marginal or underutilized land in New York State and across regions of the Upper Midwest and Southern Canada.  Fast-growing shrub willow is one of the sustainable perennial crops that is very well suited for this purpose.  Willow stems are harvested every three years and the plants resprout after each cutback, making willow fields productive for more than 20 years.  Since 1998, Dr. Larry Smart has been directing the largest willow breeding program in North America at SUNY-ESF.  In July 2009, he joined the faculty in Horticultural Sciences at NYSAES and is continuing the willow breeding program in Geneva to support expansion of the commercial willow crop enterprise with new, improved varieties.  He will also lead a project to have the willow genome sequenced by the US Dept. of Energy Joint Genome Initiative, providing a database of genetic information to speed the breeding program and expand our understanding of woody plant biology.

I collaborate with researchers at SUNY-ESF to develop fast-growing willow for bioenergy and environmental engineering applications.

Willow varieties developed in the breeding program I oversee have been licensed for commercial sale by Double A Willow.

Professional Societies and Activities
American Society for Horticultural Science
American Society of Plant Biologists
Botanical Society of America
Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists
New York Farm Bureau
New York Flora Association
Editorial Board for BioEnergy Research

Lin, J., Gibbs, J.P., and Smart, L.B. (2009) Population genetic structure of native versus naturalized sympatric shrub willows. Amer. J. Bot. 96: 771–785.

Serapiglia, M.J., Cameron, K.D., Stipanovic, A.J., Smart, L.B. (2009) Analysis of biomass composition using high-resolution thermogravimetric analysis and percent bark content for the selection of shrub willow bioenergy crop varieties. BioEnerg. Res. 2:1-9.

Purdy, J.J. and Smart, L.B. (2008) Hydroponic screening of shrub willow (Salix spp.) for arsenic tolerance and uptake. Intl. J. Phytoremed., 10:515-528.

Teece, M.A., Zengeya, T., Volk, T.A., and Smart, L.B. (2008) Cuticular wax composition of Salix varieties in relation to biomass productivity. Phytochemistry, 69:396-402.

Cameron, K.D., Phillips, I.J., Kopp, R.F., Volk, T.A., Maynard, C.A., Abrahamson, L.P., and Smart, L.B. (2008) Quantitative genetics of traits indicative of biomass production and heterosis in 34 full-sib F1 Salix eriocephala families. Bioenerg. Res., 1:80-90.

Serapiglia, M.J., Cameron, K.D., Stipanovic, A.J., and Smart, L.B. (2008) High-resolution thermogravimetric analysis for rapid characterization of biomass composition and selection of shrub willow varieties. Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol., 145:3-11.

Smart, L.B. and Cameron, K.D. (2008) Genetic improvement of willow (Salix spp.) as a dedicated bioenergy crop. In Vermerris, W. E. (ed.) Genetic Improvement of Bioenergy Crops, Springer Science, NY, 347-376.

Kuzovkina, Y.A., Weih, M., Romero, M.A., Charles, J., Hurst, S., McIvor, I., Karp, A., Trybush, S, Labrecque, M., Teodorescu, T.I., Singh, N.B., Smart, L.B., and Volk, T.A. (2008) Salix: Botany and Global Horticulture. Horticultural Reviews, Vol. 34, J. Janick (ed.), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, pp. 447-489.

Smart, L.B., Cameron, K.D., Volk, T.A., and Abrahamson, L.P. (2008) Breeding, selection, and testing of shrub willow as a dedicated energy crop. NABC Report 19 Agricultural Biofuels: Technology, Sustainability, and Profitability, National Agricultural Biotechnology Council, Ithaca, NY, pp. 85-92.

Lin, J., Gunter, L.E., Harding, S., Kopp, R.F., McCord, R.P., Tsai, C.-J., Tuskan, G.A., and Smart, L.B. (2007) Development of AFLP and RAPD markers linked to a locus associated with twisted growth in corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana ‘Tortuosa’). Tree Physiol., 27:1575-83.

Volk, T.A., Abrahamson, L.P., Nowak, C.A., Smart, L.B., Tharakan, P.J., and White, E.H. (2006) The development of short-rotation willow in the northeastern United States for bioenergy and bioproducts, agroforestry and phytoremediation. Biomass Bioenerg., 30:715-727.

Cameron, K.D., Teece, M.A., and Smart, L.B. (2006) Increased accumulation of cuticular wax and expression of lipid transfer protein in response to periodic drying events in leaves of tree tobacco. Plant Physiol., 140:176-183.

Cameron, K.D., Moskal, W.A., and Smart, L.B. (2006) A second member of the Nicotiana glauca lipid transfer protein gene family, NgLTP2, encodes a divergent and differentially expressed protein. Funct. Plant Biol., 33:141-152.

Smart, L.B., Volk, T.A., Lin, J., Kopp, R.F., Phillips, I.S., Cameron, K.D., White, E.H., and Abrahamson, L.P. (2005) Genetic improvement of shrub willow (Salix spp.) crops for bioenergy and environmental applications in the United States. Unasylva, 56: 51-55.

Plant Patents with co-inventors, L.P. Abrahamson, R.F. Kopp, and T.A. Volk:
Fast-growing willow shrub named ‘Otisco’.  U.S. PP 17,997 issued Sept. 11, 2007.
Fast-growing willow shrub named ‘Tully Champion’. U.S. PP 17,946 issued Aug. 28, 2007.
Fast-growing willow shrub named ‘Owasco’. U.S. PP 17,845 issued July 3, 2007.
Fast-growing willow shrub named ‘Canastota’.  U.S. PP 17,724 issued May 15, 2007.
Fast-growing willow shrub named ‘Fish Creek’.  U.S. PP 17,710 issued May 8, 2007.
Fast-growing willow shrub named ‘Oneida’. U.S. PP 17,682 issued May 1, 2007.
Fast-growing willow shrub named ‘Millbrook’. U.S. PP 17,646 issued April 24, 2007.