Using a Taguchi DOE to investigate factors and interactions affecting germination in Miscanthus sinensis

Abstract

the Miscanthus genus of perennial grasses is grown for bioenergy and biorenewable feedstocks. Most Miscanthus crop is M × giganteus which is rhizome propagated and therefore difficult to multiply at large scale. Seed-based propagation of new hybrids is being developed, but Miscanthus is difficult to establish from seed especially in the field. Miscanthus is often grown on marginal land adding to the challenge of successfully establishing the crop. improved understanding of the limits and biology of germination in Miscanthus species is needed. Seed germination is affected by physical and chemical factors that impact germination differently depending on level of exposure. In this investigation of Miscanthus germination, four hormones plus water stress were investigated and the range over which these factors affect germination was determined. An efficient Taguchi experimental design was used to assess the five factors in combination with the effects of light and seed priming. This determined an example of a set of optimum conditions for Miscanthus germination and demonstrated how this could change based on fixing one condition. The experiment showed how environmental stress impacted germination and how treatments such as gibberellic acid could be used to mitigate stress.Miscanthus is a genus of Poaceae that is being developed for biomass for biorenewable energy and bioproducts, as it is able to produce over 10 t DM ha −1 in a temperate climate 1 . The crop is currently of a single hybrid (M × giganteus Greef et Deu (Aksel Olson) 2 ) and is mostly propagated through inefficient and expensive clonal propagation from rhizomes. An alternative seed-based propagation would be preferred to increase the scale of production of the crop that is needed to deliver sufficient global impact 3,4 . This genotype would be of M. sinensis, M. sacchariflorus or a interspecies hybrid, Miscanthus seeds are harvested from panicles 5 . Successful seed-based establishment is difficult 6 , particularly because it is proposed that Miscanthus can be planted on marginal land to avoid competing with food crops 7-9 . A synthetic population of M. sinensis can be used for studying germination due to the availability of seed 4,6,10 . Marginal land suffers from a range of possible issues including water and salinity stress that will further exacerbate the problems of seed propagation 11 . Thus, a broad understanding of the physical and hormonal interactions on Miscanthus seed germination and early growth is important to improve both seed-based multiplication and to identify novel treatments to increase crop establishment on marginal land.The Taguchi method was first used in manufacturing 12 , and is now a widely adopted method for efficient experimental design 13 . It is designed to test multiple factors together by first defining the range of the factors and then defining the noise 14 . Orthogonal arrays (OA) are used to account for the noise using multi-variant statistical techniques 14 . The tabulated arrays allow a maximum number of effects to be...

Barley somatic embryogenesis-an attempt to modify variation induced in tissue culture

“…The Taguchi approach [ 52 ] of experimental design optimisation could be considered for such purposes. The method has not been widely exploited in the biological studies [ 53 ] except for identifying factors affecting germination in barley [ 54 ], Miscanthus sinensis [ 55 ] and in the optimisation of androgenesis in barley [ 44 , 56 ].…”

Optimizing growth conditions in vertical farming: enhancing lettuce and basil cultivation through the application of the Taguchi method

“…In the present study, to make the study practical and cost-effective, we utilized the Taguchi method, which allowed us to minimize the number of experiments needed to identify the optimal combination of factors affecting plant growth parameters. By employing this method, we were able to run only 18 combinations of factors, saving time, labour, and resources 15 , 47 . However, it is important to note that the results obtained from Taguchi optimization are limited to the specific levels and combinations of factors tested during the optimization process, and careful interpretation of the results is necessary 15 , 47 .…”

“…By employing this method, we were able to run only 18 combinations of factors, saving time, labour, and resources 15,47 . However, it is important to note that the results obtained from Taguchi optimization are limited to the specific levels and combinations of factors tested during the optimization process, and careful interpretation of the results is necessary 15,47 . However, to overcome this limitation, we used the Furthermore, the Taguchi method is designed to be robust to small variations in experimental conditions, which can minimize the effects of noise and other random factors that can affect the results of the experiment.…”

“…Due to complexity of such experiments these experiments are hardly practical. Additionally, such studies are very time consuming and costly 15 .…”

Increase of Miscanthus Cultivation with New Roles in Materials Production—A Review

“…In recent decades, scientific interest and cultivation has increased due to the expected yield potential of the lignocellulosic biomass [3,6,7] with respect to the low input requirements in soil and fertilizer use, shifting the focus to the production of lignocellulosic biomass with Miscanthus [3,4,[8][9][10][11]. Recent projections predict that Miscanthus will be able to contribute 5% to the global energy needs in the 2090s [12].…”