Miscanthus

(Source Reference:  www.jardiniere.net/ gramines/images/miscanthus; http://www.iger.bbsrc.ac.uk/Miscanthus/)

Miscanthus is a perennial rhizomatous C4 grass from Asia. It can produce dry matter yields > 20 t per ha per year in northern Europe with a higher energy ratio than other grasses or short rotation coppice. Miscanthus stands have an estimated productive life time of 10-20 years.

The crop has an extensive network of rhizomes from which nutrients such as nitrogen are translocated to and from the shoots in spring and autumn respectively. This mechanism makes Miscanthus exceptionally efficient with nutrients.

(Source Reference:            http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/reports/miscanthus/)

Extensive fields trials of Miscanthus x giganteus, a sterile hybrid genotype of the large perennial grass miscanthus, have been carried out in northern Europe since 1983. The yield potential of this novel annually harvested bioenergy crop has been shown to be substantial, but some concerns remain about drawbacks, such as its relatively high establishment costs and its currently narrow genetic base.

Miscanthus was first cultivated in Europe in the 1930s, as an ornamental introduction from Japan. A number of other ornamental varieties of miscanthus are also known to exist under various common names. The yield potential of miscanthus for cellulose fiber production was investigated in the late 1960s in Denmark. Trials for bioenergy production commenced in Denmark in 1983, spreading to Germany in 1987 before more widespread evaluation throughout Europe. Possessing the efficient C4 photosynthetic pathway (with relatively low nutrient and water requirements), yet tolerant of cool temperate climates, miscanthus is potentially an "ideal" energy crop because its annual cropping cycle provides a regular income for the grower (unlike woody crops, harvested only every 2-4 years). Lower-cost methods of establishment, together with improved overwintering, had been developed by the mid-1990s, although much research still remains to be done (Lewandowski 1998a).