Growth, yield formation, and inulin performance of a non-food energy crop, Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.), in a semi-arid area of China
2019
Lv, Shiqi | Wang, Ruixiong | Xiao, Yumeng | Li, Fencan | Mu, Yuwen | Lü, Ying | Gao, Wenting | Yang, Bin | Kou, Yixuan | Zeng, Jun | Zhao, Changming
Jerusalem artichoke is an important crop that is used as a foodstuff, animal feed, and an energy crop. However, there has been little fundamental research on its breeding, and a lack of elite cultivars has seriously limited its industrial use. This study was conducted to characterize Jerusalem artichoke’s yield formation mechanism based on its growth and photosynthetic characteristics, to identify reliable criteria for high yield cultivar screening, and to guide the breeding of new high yield cultivars. High yield group (MH) cultivars exhibited vigorous aboveground and root growth, higher photosynthetic capacities (especially in terms of their ability to utilize weak light and minimize dark respiration) and lower rates of sexual reproduction than low yield group (ML) cultivars. Traits associated strongly with high yields included a high leaf area index (LAI), plant height, and stem diameter; a low dark respiration rate (Rd), light compensation point (LCP), and light saturation point (LSP); and late maturation with a long vegetative period. In addition, high yields were due more to increases in tuber number than tuber size, and growth under elevated CO2 conditions was identified as a potentially effective way of increasing yields. The tubers of high yield cultivars exhibited elevated inulin contents, and the inulin content depended more on the total sugar content than the reducing sugar content. Because high yield cultivars have low rates of sexual reproduction, it may be necessary to complement hybrid breeding efforts with mutation breeding, molecular breeding, and other breeding strategies to improve Jerusalem artichoke yields.
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