Switchgrass and Giant Miscanthus Agronomy - Engineering and Science of Biomass Feedstock Production and Provision - page 52

to the longer growing seasons in US areas where giant miscanthus has been
produced compared to the length of the European growing seasons. Published
yields of giant miscanthus ranged from 4.5 dry Mg ha −1 for a second-year planting
in Ona, Florida, compared to an annual average yield of 31.1 dry Mg ha −1 over the
third through tenth growing seasons in central Illinois (see Table 3.1 ). Several of
these plantings are in long-term ongoing studies, and future productivity should be
monitored. Moreover, as additional studies take place, selecting optimal growing
regions for giant miscanthus should result in increased yields.

3.4 The Future

At the time of this writing, both switchgrass and giant miscanthus are being com-
mercially produced as biomass feedstocks in the USA due to productivity and site
adaptability, and the future looks even brighter for both plants. Ongoing and future
research will likely make inroads into improved understanding of the biology and
management of these grasses and result in improved yields, probably with reduced
inputs. For example, because of its diverse genetic background and long-termed use
as a pasture/forage crop, switchgrass has benefi ted from the availability of various
commercially available pest controls and management equipment along with, most
importantly, breeding improvements. Establishment effi ciency and yields of mod-
ern switchgrass cultivars are signifi cantly better than those of the best-available
cultivars of only 10 years ago.
Miscanthus × giganteus is a more recent addition to the feedstock palette, with
only a relatively small number of researchers studying the grass at a handful of US
sites in 2005. As of 2013, many more researchers have contributed fi ndings that
have improved giant miscanthus agronomy, as well as our understanding of where
it is best produced and of its genetic complexities. Where it is well adapted in the
central USA, for example, the unimproved “Illinois” type of giant miscanthus has
been quite productive and outproduced upland switchgrasses. As with switchgrass,
future giant miscanthus research will focus on improving pest controls and manage-
ment equipment and also on breeding for improved productivity in diverse environ-
mental settings with limited inputs.

References

1. U.S. Department of Energy (2011) U.S. billion-ton update: biomass supply for a bioenergy
and bioproducts industry. In: Perlack RD, Stokes BJ (eds) ORNL/TM-2011/224. Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, p 227

2. Long SP (1994) The application of physiological and molecular understanding of the effects
of the environment on photosynthesis in the selection of novel “fuel” crops; with particular
reference to C4 perennials. In: Struick PC, Vredenberg W, Renkema JA, Parlevet JE (eds)
Plant production on the threshold of a new century. Proceedings of the International
Conference at the Occasion of the 75th Anniversary of Wageningen Agricultural University,
Wageningen, The Netherlands, 28 June-1 July, 1993, p 231-244