Development of High-yielding Biomass Crops Using a Wild Relative of Sugarcane

摘要

A growing world population demands for increased production of both food and energy, posing a major challenge in unstable environments where conventional crop yields are low. Sugarcane is being viewed as an important crop for producing food (sugar) and energy (bioethanol and electricity from bagasse) in such areas. Erianthus, a perennial grass (Poaceae), is a wild relative of sugarcane and grows between the tropics and the temperate regions. Biomass production is large because it is a C4 plant with high photosynthetic ability. It is also tolerant to drought and infertile soil conditions because of its large and deep root system. Furthermore, post-harvest regeneration from stubble is outstanding and multiple ratoon cultivation is possible. In order to introduce these favorable characteristics of Erianthus into sugarcane and develop a new type of sugarcane, researches are being carried out in Northeast Thailand and at the Tropical Agricultural Research Front (TARF) in Ishigaki Island under the High-Yielding Biomass Crops Project of JIRCAS.