15AGRITECHCAT4: MUST: Miscanthus Upscaling Technology

Aberystwyth University

Approximately 8000 ha of Miscanthus are currently grown in the UK. It is a C4 perennial crop biomass crop, and is harvested in spring and used for bioenergy and bioproducts. The commercial crop is rhizome planted and this limits planting rates and hence market growth; the annual multiplication factor for seed is more than 200 times that from rhizomes. We will develop the technologies associated with delivering a seed based Miscanthus crop which can rapidly upscale the crop.