Miscanthus - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 52

M. sacchariflorus is distributed from southern Siberia, China, Korea, and Japan
[ 17 , 42 ]. It prefers exposed, fertile, and moist places such as flood plains, river-
banks, and lakes [ 76 ]. It is also more sensitive to frost than M. sinensis [ 90 ].
Jensen et al. [ 91 ] reported that M. sacchariflorus accessions from different
regions of Japan, China, and Korea started flowering from mid-July to late
November [ 91 ]. M. sacchariflorus , irrespective of habitat, is considered a quanti-
tative short-day species [ 92 ]. In contrast to M. sinensis that forms new tillers during
vegetation period, M. sacchariflorus forms about 80 % of its tillers in spring. This
may be the reason why M. sinensis has a relatively long flowering period, whereas
M. sacchariflorus has a shorter but more concentrated flowering time
[ 31 ]. M. sacchariflorus from more northern locations have been reported to go
dormant in autumn even when grown under greenhouse conditions [ 31 ].
M. sacchariflorus has a high lignin-to-cellulose ratio similar to that of M.

giganteus [ 81 ]. M. sacchariflorus loses its leaf sheaths early [ 93 ] relative to
M. giganteus , which retains its leaf sheaths during the winter. Leaf sheaths

attached to the culms improve plant resistance to lodging [ 93 ]. On the other hand,
given that leaves generally have the highest mineral content in a plant [ 4 ], selecting
for accessions that readily senesce their leaves may be needed to improve
combustion quality of the crop.

Section: Kariyasua

Miscanthus tinctorius

M. tinctorius is a diploid with 38 chromosomes [ 36 ] (Fig. 3.7 ). The name
“Kariyasu” means “easy to cut” in Japanese, and it reflects the fact that
M. tinctorius has been long utilized as fodder. The leaves are broader and thinner

Fig. 3.7 Miscanthus
tinctorius