Extending Miscanthus Cultivation with Novel Germplasm at Six Contrasting Sites

Abstract

Miscanthus is a genus of perennial rhizomatous grasses with C4 photosynthesis which is indigenous in a wide geographic range of Asian climates. The sterile clone, Miscanthus × giganteus (M. × giganteus), is a naturally occurring interspecific hybrid that has been used commercially in Europe for biomass production for over a decade. Although, M. × giganteus has many outstanding performance characteristics including high yields and low nutrient offtakes, commercial expansion is limited by cloning rates, slow establishment to a mature yield, frost, and drought resistance. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of 13 novel germplasm types alongside M. × giganteus and horticultural “Goliath” in trials in six sites (in Germany, Russia, The Netherlands, Turkey, UK, and Ukraine). Mean annual yields across all the sites and genotypes increased from 2.3 ± 0.2 t dry matter ha−1 following the first year of growth, to 7.3 ± 0.3, 9.5 ± 0.3, and 10.5 ± 0.2 t dry matter ha−1 following the second, third, and fourth years, respectively. The highest average annual yields across locations and four growth seasons were observed for M. × giganteus (9.9 ± 0.7 t dry matter ha−1) and interspecies hybrid OPM-6 (9.4 ± 0.6 t dry matter ha−1). The best of the new hybrid genotypes yielded similarly to M. × giganteus at most of the locations. Significant effects of the year of growth, location, species, genotype, and interplay between these factors have been observed demonstrating strong genotype × environment interactions. The highest yields were recorded in Ukraine. Time needed for the crop establishment varied depending on climate: in colder climates such as Russia the crop has not achieved its peak yield by the fourth year, whereas in the hot climate of Turkey and under irrigation the yields were already high in the first growing season. We have identified several alternatives to M. × giganteus which have provided stable yields across wide climatic ranges, mostly interspecies hybrids, and also Miscanthus genotypes providing high biomass yields at specific geographic locations. Seed-propagated interspecific and intraspecific hybrids, with high stable yields and cheaper reliable scalable establishment remain a key strategic objective for breeders.

Heavy Metal Uptake by Novel Miscanthus Seed-Based Hybrids Cultivated in Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil

“…Hence, they could possibly grow larger and produce more biomass in the first growing season. The obserevd results are in accordance with the literature [8,13], where after the first growing season the highest yield was measured for M. × giganteus when compared to seed based hybrids. Values are mean, ±SE, n=9…”

“…However, cultivation of M. × giganteus in the temperate climates of Europe has a few disadvantages, such as relatively high establishment costs using vegetative propagation methods from the rhizomes and insufficent hardiness in the first winter following establishment especially at continental locations with harsh winter frost periods [3,7]. Introducing new germplasm from existing breeding programmes at the University of Aberystwyth can extend the geographical range in which Miscanthus can be cultivated and overcome some of the current barriers [8]. Development of techniques to introduce new seed propagated hybrids of Miscanthus with the associated novel agronomies and developments in harvesting have been projected to make significant reductions in the cost of producing and harvesting the biomass [3].…”

Economic and Environmental Assessment of Seed and Rhizome Propagated Miscanthus in the UK

“…The hybrid yields at year 2 are at the level of Mxg yield normally reached by year 3 as shown in the OPTIMISC trial (Kalinina et al, 2017). However, the Mxg yields in both trials were similar in year 2.…”

“…These hybrids differ in leaf share and stem diameter, with the classic antagonistic relationship between stem counts per plant and height (Kalinina et al, 2017). The plots were cut to a swath using a 4.5 m mower using three 54 m runs.…”

Characterization of Miscanthus cell wall polymers

“…To study cell wall structural details, four Miscanthus genotypes were selected. The main criterion for the selection of the four genotypes tested in this study was a high dry matter yield potential and contrasting biomass composition (Kalinina et al, ).…”