Botanical and germinating characteristics of Miscanthus species native to Korea

Rapid establishment by means of seed propagation is cost-effective for Miscanthus species, but the highest biomass-producing Miscanthus used worldwide predominantly is a sterile natural hybrid. Seeded variety and seed propagation will be desirable for extended cultivation of the species, but botanical features and optimal germination conditions of the potential Miscanthus species native to Korea have not been well compared and studied. The ploidy level of M. sinensis, M. sacchariflorus, and M. x giganteus used in this study were estimated to be diploidy, tetraploidy, and triploidy, which can be converted into nuclear DNA contents of 2.75 pg/C, 2.35 pg/C and 2.67 pg/C, respectively. M. sinensis rhizomes are compacted and less branching, while M. sacchariflorus has a broad creeping and thick stemmed rhizomes. Abaxial leaf surface of M. sinensis is densely pilose, but glabrous for M. sacchariflorus, while the leaf sheath of M. sacchariflorus is thickly haired, but hairless for M. sinensis. S pikelets of M. sinensis are awned, but awnless for M. sacchariflorus, which is one remarkable difference between them. When seed germination and seed loss by shattering are considered, the suggested harvest time is at least about 11(th) week after seed heading initiation. When seeds are not matured enough less than 10 weeks after seed heading, NaOCl treatment seems to damage seeds, resulting in lower seed germination. Compared to immature and less dried Miscanthus seeds, enhanced seed germination with 2% NaOCl, however, was evident for those matured seeds at most of the exposed temperatures ranging from 20 to 35. The greatest germination of 98 and 88% occurred at 30 for M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus with 2% NaOCl scarification. From the effects of temperature on early growth, seedlings grown at 30 optimized shoot and root length, and fresh and dry weight for both Miscanthus species native to Korea.