Genotypic Variation in the Amino Acid Profiles of Miscanthus Rhizomes During Autumn Acclimation.

Amino Acid Profiling and Rhizome Moisture Contents of field acclimated of three Miscanthus genotypes

Producing large, consistent quantities of biomass form Miscanthus for bioenergy production in Ontario requires high-yielding, cold tolerant genotypes. The objective of this work is to Identify strategies that Miscanthus genotypes use to survive cold temperatures and/or chemical properties of Miscanthus rhizomes that confer increased cold tolerance. It is hypothesized that genotypes that have high winter survival rates are likely; acclimating to the cold in the fall; and have increased freeze tolerance and regrowth capacity. Cold acclimation will be measured by harvesting rhizomes over the fall acclimation period from field grown Miscanthus arranged as a RCB with four replications.  Viability assessment will be made following freeze tolerance tests, by monitoring regrowth capacity in the greenhouse under optimal conditions for four weeks. It is expected that genotypes with superior cold tolerance traits will have decreasing rhizome moisture contents and significant shifts in their amino acid profiles over time. Genotypes with a low rhizome LT₅₀ will regrow better subsequent to imposed stress. It is expected that there will be a correlation between the ability to acclimate to cold and freezing stress. The identification of genotypes with superior cold tolerance will aid in improving the crop for our climatic conditions.