Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 3.8
The comparison of new cultivar of
M. sinensis
selected from breeding materials derived
from lower latitude and native material of Hokkaido. (
a
) Native in Hokkaido, early flowering time.
(
b
) New cultivar, late flowering time (Photos: 31 Aug 2012)
giganteus
. A German breeding program led by M. Deuter at Tinplant (
http://www.
tinplant-gmbh.de/
)
was established in 1992 and already released two cultivars of
M.
giganteus
in 2006, “Amuri” and “Nagara.”
M. sinensis
can be used as a breeding material given its fertility and abundant
genetic diversity [
47
]. It is also known that selections of
M. sinensis
have biomass
yields comparable to that of
M.
giganteus
in some experimental sites, such as
those in Northern Europe [
96
]. It is also capable of being established by seeds.
Hokkaido University initiated a breeding program on
M. sinensis
in 2006.
M. sinensis
selected from lower-latitude region with high elevations of Japan had
high biomass productivity compared with native populations in Hokkaido, indicat-
ing delayed flowering time in Sapporo (Fig.
3.8
). “Shiozuka” from Shikoku Island
and “Akeno” from central of Main Island of Japan were recently released cultivars
of
Miscanthus
that are adapted for cool regions such as Hokkaido (Yamada
unpublished).
Target Traits and Current Breeding Goals
Because
Miscanthus
spp. is still an undeveloped crop, it is important to identify the
trait selection criteria. Karp and Shield [
15
] listed possible traits for sustainable
yield and quality improvement in bioenergy crops. In the context of sustainable
production systems in bioenergy crops, they concluded that there are three main
challenges facing yield improvement, which are interlinked: how to change thermal
time sensitivity to extend the growing season; how to increase aboveground bio-
mass without depleting belowground biomass, so that sufficient reserves are still
available for next year's growth (and thus without increasing the requirement for
nutrient applications); and how to increase aboveground biomass and not be limited
by water.
Increasing biomass yield is the main objective of breeding programs. Delaying
or eliminating flowering, increasing plant height, tiller number and density, and
stem thickness are also breeding challenges that will enable maximization of
biomass yield [
97
]. In addition, improving the tolerance to biotic and abiotic
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