TITLE:
Effect of Indoor and Underground Storage on Efficient Vegetative Propagation of Dwarf Napier Grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach)
AUTHORS:
Yusuke Iki, Yasuyuki Ishii, Satoru Fukagawa, Sachiko Idota
KEYWORDS:
Vegetative Propagation, Temperature, Storage, Stem Section, Dwarf Napier Grass
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.7 No.8,
June
1,
2016
ABSTRACT: Dwarf, late-heading
(DL) Napier grass is suitable for both cut-and-carry and grazing management due
to sufficient yield and quality potential. This species can hardly produce
viable seed, and thus vegetative propagation should be essential before winter
in temperate regions of southern Kyushu. The objective of this study was to
determine the efficient storage methods of DL vegetative propagation. Two
experiments were carried out, the first focused on indoor storage of 10-node
stem sections under room or chilling (10°C) conditions and the second,
on underground storage of ten-node and one-node stem sections at 10 cm, 25 cm
or 40 cm depth. After both storages, both of ten-node stem sections, cut into
single nodes, and one-node stem sections were transplanted into the soil and
counted for the emergence every month in 3 months of planting. In indoor-storage,
while storage temperature hardly affected the emergence (P > 0.05), storage period significantly reduced the emergence percentage. In underground storage, while
one-node storage achieved constantly 60% emergence, ten-node storage
achieved a higher emergence at 80% under 25-cm and 40-cm depths. The results of
the study suggest that underground storage of longer stem sections at 25 cm
depth could be applied to practical vegetative propagation in the region.