WP2

WP2: Propagation, distribution and establishment of pre-selected plant material

WP Leader: Dr. Kai Uwe Schwarz

WP Team: Schwarz, IBERS, WU, Blankney

Tasks:

• to select 120 genotypes from existing breeding trials;
• transfer selections into in vitro culture;
• propagate 100 genotypes for use in abiotic stress screening experiments;
• select 15 promising genotypes for replicated multilocation field trials at agricultural plot scale;
• provision of 100 000 plants for large-scale one hectare trials for industrial tests.

WP2 progress so far

WP2 is responsible for the propagation and distribution of pre-selected Miscanthus plant material from existing Miscanthus pools in the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany and supplied the material for the establishment of all OPTIMISC experiments.

By 2013, about 100 Miscanthus genotypes had been transferred to in vitro culture in WP2 for abiotic stress experiments in WP3. A subset of 15 accessions (22,200 plants) including multiplication from seeds/rhizomes were provided for the WP4 multi-location trials. In the third period of the project (02.2014-02.2015), the work focused on the maintenance of the material as in vitro plants. Further work was carried out on the efficiency of different propagation methods: seed versus clonal propagation from rhizomes or in vitro.

The propagation of the plant material for the OPTIMISC experiments is based on in vitro culture techniques, rhizomes and seeds. The expected final outcomes of the WP on propagation (WP2) will be improvement of tissue culture techniques relating to rooting of plants and the use of shoot tips in addition to nodal buds as the method of plant multiplication by direct in vitro tillering. Propagation methods will be compared and evaluated with regard to their practicability, efficiency and commercialization.