Kernza® is the first commercially available perennial grain crop, developed fromintermediate wheatgrass Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & D.R.Dewey, hereafter IWG for its environmental benefits and potential to reduce labor and inputs. However, its adoption has been hindered by low grain yields (about 0.7 to 1 Mg ha-1 in the first two years) and uncertainty regarding best management practices. As IWG stand density increases over time due to tillering, rhizomatous growth, and seed shatter, reproductive tiller fertility tends to decrease. Coupled with physiological changes from a stress-tolerant perennial response, yield declines down to 0.2 to 0.4 Mg ha-1 commonly occur in subsequent years. Weed control also presents a significant challenge, as only two herbicides targeting broadleaf weeds, Nufarm’s Weedar 64 (2,4-D) and Curtail-M® (MCPA + clopyralid) have been approved for food-grade grain production, and no herbicides are available for grass control. As a perennial crop, organic weed control options are also limited. Given the significant share of IWG acreage for organic and regenerative production (~50%) it is crucial to identify optimal management strategies that maintain or increase grain yield in organic production while reducing weed competition. Work presented in this thesis evaluates two such practices. The first chapter investigates higher seeding rates in IWG as a potential cultural weed management strategy that could enhance crop competitiveness and suppress weeds through increased shading and resource competition. However, intraspecific competition at higher seeding rates could negatively impact grain yield, particularly as stands mature. A field experiment was conducted from 2022 to 2024 to assess inter- and intraspecific competition in IWG (MN-Clearwater) across five seeding rates (6, 17, 28, 39, and 50 kg pure live seed ha⁻¹). The study was replicated in Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, and two sites in New York. Data collected included species-level weed biomass and IWG density, ground cover, biomass, grain yield, and yield components. Overall, increasing seeding rates improved weed suppression, with effects observed over two years after planting. However, a grain yield plateau was observed in the first year and a grain penalty in the Wisconsin site was observed in the second year. Grain protein and test weight appeared to be reduced by higher seeding rates in the first year, but there was otherwise strong evidence for increasing the standard seeding rate of 11 to 20 kg/ha in organic production. The second chapter of this thesis investigates whether yield decline in IWG can be mitigated by soil disturbance in a single four-year IWG stand with an ongoing legacy of grain-forage dual use. The experiment was conducted from 2023 to 2024 in Aurora, NY. Tillage treatments were fall-applied strip tillage, high residue cultivation, or their combination. Forage treatments were four annually applied defoliation events: Summer (only following grain harvest), Spring + Summer, Fall + Summer, and Spring + Summer + Fall. Fall tillage was hypothesized to increase the proportion of reproductive tillers and reduce resource competition, with the “vertical, deep” disturbance of strip tillage shanks having a different effect than the “horizontal, shallow” disturbance of the high residue cultivator. Mowing frequencies and timings were hypothesized to increase light penetration to the crown and promote re-growth. Data collected included forage yields, IWG straw and grain yields, total weed biomass, seedhead counts and weights, and culmed tiller counts. Overall, fall tillage demonstrated the potential to rejuvenate organic IWG stands, increasing grain yield while maintaining or even increasing forage productivity in a dual-use system. Weed biomass was not affected by any treatment. Combinations of strip tillage and high residue cultivation with fall forage harvest were particularly productive, yielding 4x as much as the unmowed, untilled control. Yield increases were attributable to increased tiller fertility. Nonetheless, since the study was limited to a single site-year, additional research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind strip tillage and high residue cultivation increasing grain yield, as well as any environmental or economic costs to increasing disturbance in this low-input perennial system.