Miscanthus, an emerging bioenergy crop for Canada: overcoming challenges to breeding novel triploid cultivars

The research outlined in this proposal involves two projects that address challenges in breeding new varieties of the bioenergy crop Miscanthus. The first project is an extension of work that began under a 2010/11 Mitacs-Accelerate PhD Fellowship. This project aims to develop protocol for long-term storage of pollen to cross varieties that do not flower at the same time. The second project will optimize protocol for producing chromosome-doubled varieties of M. sacchariflorus. Chromosome-doubled varieties of M. sacchariflorus can be crossed with M. sinensis to produce new triploid cultivars. New Energy Farms will acquire protocol for pollen storage and new chromosome-doubled varieties of M. sacchariflorus. Assisting New Energy Farms to produce new triploid cultivars will help solidify their position as a supplier of Miscanthus to the bioenergy market and maximize biomass yield across Canada.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Rowan Sage

Student:

Patrick Calvin Friesen

Partner:

New Energy Farms

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

University of Toronto