UK researchers find miscanthus can grow well on poorer farm land

In the UK, new study shows miscanthus can be grown in lower agricultural grade conditions – such as marginal land – due to their remarkable resilience and photosynthetic capacity at low temperatures.

With very little known about its productivity in flooded and moisture-saturated soil conditions, researchers at the Earlham Institute in Norwich wanted to understand the differences in water-stress tolerance among Miscanthus species to guide genomics-assisted crop breeding.

The research team – along with collaborators at TEAGASC, The Agriculture and Food Development Authority in the Republic of Ireland, and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences in Wales – analysed various Miscanthus genotypes to identify traits that provided insight into gene adaptation and regulation during water stress.

They found specific genes that play key roles in response to water stress across different Miscanthus species, and saw consistencies with functional biological processes that are critical during the survival of drought stress in other organisms.