What is Erianthus ?

　Erianthus is a tall perennial herb of the Gramineae family. It has C₄ photosynthesis and is closely related to sugarcane (Saccharum spp. L.). Erianthus is classified into Old World species and New World species. The Old World species are widely distributed in the Mediterranean region, South Asia, South-East Asia, East Asia, and Oceania, and the New World species are distributed in North and South America. There are eight Old World species (E. arundinaceus, E. procerus, E. kanashiroi, E. bengalense, E. ravennae, E. hostii, E. elephantinus, and E. rockii [1]), which are considered to have played important roles in establishing sugarcane (genus Saccharum) as a member of the “Saccharum complex” [1, 2].

　Erianthus has several useful traits such as high biomass productivity, vigorous ratooning, drought tolerance, water logging tolerance, adaptability to low-fertility soil, disease resistance, and pest resistance. Hence, Erianthus has come under great attention and is increasingly used as an important source of genetic resources in sugarcane breeding programs for broadening the genetic base and introgression of favorable agronomic characters from Erianthus to sugarcane. In addition, because of their high biomass productivity and wide ecological adaptability, Erianthus species have come into focus as an energy or fiber crop to produce electricity, liquid and solid biofuels, pulp, etc. [3].

Growth of sugarcane and Erianthus (Photo by M. Sato at Khon Kaen, Thailand)

Ratooning of Erianthus and sugarcane (Photo by Y. Terajima at Khon Kaen, Thailand)

Sugarcane breeding project in JIRCAS

　Breeding to further improve sugarcane productivity and improve adaptability to adverse environments has been hampered by the narrow genetic base of sugarcane breeding materials. To overcome these constraints, utilization of wild germplasm is considered to be useful for their properties of higher biomass productivity and better adaptability to adverse environments.

　JIRCAS and the Khon Kaen Field Crops Research Center in Thailand have jointly collected Erianthus germplasm from all over Thailand and have implemented the Sugarcane breeding project for development of “basic breeding techniques and scientific information” to enhance the utilization of the germplasm for sugarcane improvement in Thailand [4, 5, 6].

　To effectively utilize Erianthus germplasm for sugarcane breeding, it is essential that genetic diversity be investigated and that useful breeding materials be identified. Although Erianthus germplasm has been collected in places such as India, Indonesia, and China, there is little public information about the characteristics of the collected germplasm and only limited use of the germplasm for breeding.

　We developed this Erianthus database to share with other breeders and researchers the information on the morphological and agronomic data that were collected in the Sugarcane breeding project. Through the publication of this database, we expect to contribute to sugar and energy production throughout the world by enhancing the utilization of Erianthus for sugarcane breeding, research, and biomass utilization in Thailand and other countries.

Dying-off of sugarcane in dry season (Photo by Y. Terajima at Khon Kaen, Thailand)

Evaluation field of Erianthus germplasm (Photo by Y. Terajima at Khon Kaen, Thailand)