History of the development ofMiscanthusas a bioenergy crop: from small beginnings to potential realisation

Miscanthus, a genus of perennial C4grasses from Eastern Asia, has strong biomass potential, combining high dry matter yields, perennial growth, efficient use of nitrogen and water and good disease resistance, making it one of the leading energy crops. We recount the history ofMiscanthusresearch in Europe, starting with the introduction of ‘giganteus’ in 1935 to Denmark. In 1989 Mike Jones, of Trinity College Dublin, initiatedMiscanthusresearch in Ireland and coordinated field trials in Europe in some of the earliest eco-physiological experiments that led to a better understanding of the exceptional performance of this C4plant in temperate climates. These included the firstMiscanthusfield trial in Ireland, planted in 1990 in Cashel, County Tipperary, the output of which was used to parameterise the growth model MISCANMOD with the cloneM.xgiganteus. This model was developed later into a powerful and flexible Fortran version (MiscanFor) that is now used to predictMiscanthuscrop performance in different soils under current and future climate conditions. A brief discussion of the recent changes in the socio-economic-environment drivers for bio-energy crops is also included. The long term research programmes for improving the breeding and agronomy ofMiscanthusas a renewable energy source are now reaching commercial maturity and will hopefully aid in our attempts to de-carbonise energy producing systems and to mitigate the impacts of climate change.