Biomass Production Characteristics of Sugarcane at Initial Growth Stage

: The growth of sugarcane plants at the initial stage is slower than that of other C 4 plants. The improvement of initial growth is very important to obtain a high sugar content and high cane yield in sugarcane. In the present study, we examined the factors affecting the growth at the initial growth stage in Saccharum species ( Saccharum spp. Hybrid, S. edule ) and a related species ( Erianthus spp., Pennisetum purpureum ). The growth characteristics of the plants at 2 months after germination were compared with those at the 7 th leaf growth stage. In the two-month-old plants, the shoot dry matter, leaf area and the number of shoot roots were larger in KRSp93-30 than those in the other species. However, at the 7 th leaf stage, the number of shoot roots in KRSp93-30 were almost similar to those in other species. Effi cient growth of KRSp93-30 at the initial stage may be attributed to a high leaf emergence rate and high net assimilation rate.