78
Phytotechnology with Biomass Production
5.1 Plant Selection and Breeding
The cultivar (CV) of Miscanthus × giganteus (M. × giganteus) that is used in
most studies in the US and many places in Europe is a sterile triploid hybrid
of diploid M. sinensis (receiving 1n) and tetraploid M. sacchariflorus (receiving
2n) but with some additional ancestral contribution from M. sinensis (Mitros
et al., 2020). It was brought from Japan to Europe by 1930 and sold as a decorative plant until the 1980s when it was promoted, initially in Denmark, as
a potential source of biomass (Nielsen, 1990; Pude, 2008). The most widely
grown clone in the US was derived from material at the Chicago Botanical
Garden and later designated as the Illinois clone. A CV named “Freedom”
developed at University of Mississippi from a USDA germplasm collection
appears to have essentially the same genotype. A strain obtained by K-State
from Bluemel Nursery in 2007 is actually tetraploid M. sacchariflorus. Below it
is identified as M. sacchariflorus Bluemel. Material obtained from Bluemel in
1987 and grown at the Minnesota Arboretum in Minneapolis appears identical in observable phenotype, to the Illinois clone of M. × giganteus obtained
from Maple River Farms of Owosso, Michigan in 2018 (Davis L. personal
observation). The Bluemel Nursery website states that Bluemel obtained his
original M. × giganteus material in Europe (Switzerland) in 1960. Thus, we are
working with a very narrow genetic base and there is no reason to think that
we have a best widely adapted hybrid.
5.3 Site Characterization ...................................................................................90
5.4 Plant Nutrition and Supplementation....................................................... 91
5.5 Role of Soil Amendments ........................................................................... 94
5.5.1 Impact of Soil Amendments on the Phytoremediation of
Soil Contaminated by Organic Substances .................................. 95
5.5.2 Impact of Soil Amendments on Miscanthus Production in
Postmilitary Soil ............................................................................... 97
5.5.3 Impact of Soil Amendments on Miscanthus Biomass
Production in Contaminated Postmining Soil ............................ 98
5.6 Geography and Soil Types ........................................................................ 100
5.7 Role of Plant Growth Regulators in Production of M. × giganteus ..... 102
5.7.1 Lab Research on Impact of PGRs on Phytoremediation
with Biomass Production Using Soils from Military Sites
Contaminated with Trace Elements ............................................ 103
5.7.2 Field Research on Impact of PGRs on Biomass Parameters
of M. × giganteus during Field Production on the Marginal
and Slightly Contaminated Lands .............................................. 104
References .............................................................................................................106
Phytotechnology with Biomass Production
5.1 Plant Selection and Breeding
The cultivar (CV) of Miscanthus × giganteus (M. × giganteus) that is used in
most studies in the US and many places in Europe is a sterile triploid hybrid
of diploid M. sinensis (receiving 1n) and tetraploid M. sacchariflorus (receiving
2n) but with some additional ancestral contribution from M. sinensis (Mitros
et al., 2020). It was brought from Japan to Europe by 1930 and sold as a decorative plant until the 1980s when it was promoted, initially in Denmark, as
a potential source of biomass (Nielsen, 1990; Pude, 2008). The most widely
grown clone in the US was derived from material at the Chicago Botanical
Garden and later designated as the Illinois clone. A CV named “Freedom”
developed at University of Mississippi from a USDA germplasm collection
appears to have essentially the same genotype. A strain obtained by K-State
from Bluemel Nursery in 2007 is actually tetraploid M. sacchariflorus. Below it
is identified as M. sacchariflorus Bluemel. Material obtained from Bluemel in
1987 and grown at the Minnesota Arboretum in Minneapolis appears identical in observable phenotype, to the Illinois clone of M. × giganteus obtained
from Maple River Farms of Owosso, Michigan in 2018 (Davis L. personal
observation). The Bluemel Nursery website states that Bluemel obtained his
original M. × giganteus material in Europe (Switzerland) in 1960. Thus, we are
working with a very narrow genetic base and there is no reason to think that
we have a best widely adapted hybrid.
5.3 Site Characterization ...................................................................................90
5.4 Plant Nutrition and Supplementation....................................................... 91
5.5 Role of Soil Amendments ........................................................................... 94
5.5.1 Impact of Soil Amendments on the Phytoremediation of
Soil Contaminated by Organic Substances .................................. 95
5.5.2 Impact of Soil Amendments on Miscanthus Production in
Postmilitary Soil ............................................................................... 97
5.5.3 Impact of Soil Amendments on Miscanthus Biomass
Production in Contaminated Postmining Soil ............................ 98
5.6 Geography and Soil Types ........................................................................ 100
5.7 Role of Plant Growth Regulators in Production of M. × giganteus ..... 102
5.7.1 Lab Research on Impact of PGRs on Phytoremediation
with Biomass Production Using Soils from Military Sites
Contaminated with Trace Elements ............................................ 103
5.7.2 Field Research on Impact of PGRs on Biomass Parameters
of M. × giganteus during Field Production on the Marginal
and Slightly Contaminated Lands .............................................. 104
References .............................................................................................................106