Progress in upscaling Miscanthus biomass production for the European bio‐economy with seed‐based hybrids

Abstract

Field trials in Europe with Miscanthus over the past 25 years have demonstrated that interspecies hybrids such as M. 9 giganteus (M 9 g) combine both high yield potentials and low inputs in a wide range of soils and climates. Miscanthus hybrids are expected to play a major role in the provision of perennial lignocellulosic biomass across much of Europe as part of a lower carbon economy. However, even with favourable policies in some European countries, uptake has been slow. M 9 g, as a sterile clone, can only be propagated vegetatively, which leads to high establishment costs and low multiplication rates. Consequently, a decade ago, a strategic decision to develop rapidly multiplied seeded hybrids was taken. To make progress on this goal, we have (1) harnessed Correspondence: John Clifton-

Environmental Performance of Miscanthus, Switchgrass and Maize: Can C4 Perennials Increase the Sustainability of Biogas Production?

“…Miscanthus x giganteus has a very low invasiveness risk, because it does not produce fertile seeds and no escapes were observed over more than two decades of M. x giganteus production in Europe. Current miscanthus breeding efforts aim to produce fertile genotypes that can be propagated by seeds [10], but several mechanisms to avoid seed escape are incorporated, including preferring candidates which require a very long vegetation period for seed production to avoid viable seeds being produced in regions of biomass cultivation [9]. It is also necessary to mention that miscanthus as well as switchgrass seedlings have a very low competitiveness compared to weeds and a slow youth development.…”

“…In addition, the farmer has to dedicate arable land to miscanthus for several years to achieve return on investment, due to the high establishment costs. However, current research focuses on reducing establishment costs by developing seed-based genotypes, which may allow direct sowing in future [10]. Further, most biogas plants are designed for a minimum of 20 years' operation, which would fit in very well with the expected productive lifetime of miscanthus.…”

Environmental Influences on the Growing Season Duration and Ripening of Diverse Miscanthus Germplasm Grown in Six Countries

“…However, the genotypes used to parameterize the existing models are clonal, wild-type germplasm whereas breeding research is focused on the production of elite seed propagated varieties (Clifton-Brown et al, 2016). To address this gap in the modeling data we have built on the existing MiscanFor (Hastings et al, 2009) model that predicts biomass accumulation using all the trait models described above and including the principles of Monteith (1978).…”

Progress on Optimizing Miscanthus Biomass Production for the European Bioeconomy: Results of the EU FP7 Project OPTIMISC

“…During the term of the OPTIMISC project, major advances in breeding interspecific hybrids have been made in the UK (Clifton-Brown et al, 2017). The next steps in this development include determining how to: (1) increase the seed production potential of elite interspecific crosses; 2) optimize planting density; (3) maintain effective weed control during establishment—especially where the crop is to be established on marginal land.…”

“…Miscanthus was first cultivated in Europe in the 1930s, when it was introduced from Japan. Today it has become a leading candidate crop for production of lignocellulosic feedstocks for both bioenergy and material uses, thanks to its rapid biomass accumulation in temperate climates (Clifton-Brown et al, 2017). …”