Assessment of Drought Tolerance of Miscanthus Genotypes through Dry-Down Treatment and Fixed-Soil-Moisture-Content Techniques

Miscanthus, a high-yielding, warm-season C4 grass, shows promise as potential bioenergy crop in temperate regions. However, drought may restrain productivity of most genotypes. In this study, total 29 Miscanthus genotypes East-Asian origin were screened for tolerance with two methods, dry-down treatment locations and system where soil moisture content (SMC) was maintained at fixed levels using an automatic irrigation one location. One genotype, sinensis PMS-285, showed relatively high drought-tolerance capacity under moderate stress. aligned the M. ‘Yangtze-Qinling’ genetic cluster, had principal component analysis ranking values both experiments, Hokkaido University Brigham Young University. Genotypes derived from cluster greater photosynthetic performance than other clusters, suggesting germplasm group could be source drought-tolerant plant material. Diploid stronger tetraploid genotypes, ploidy influential factor trait. Of appears more suitable selecting given that it reflects water-stress conditions field. fixed-SMC experiment good understanding physiological responses plants to constant levels.