Pyter Richard, Heaton Emily, Dohleman Frank, Voigt Tom, Long Stephen
Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.
Methods Mol Biol. 2009;581:41-52. doi: 10.1007/978-1-60761-214-8_3.
Since 2002, researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, have been studying the perennial warm-season grass Miscanthus x giganteus (M. x g.) to determine its potential as a biomass feedstock. M. x g. originated in Japan and is a hybrid believed to have M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus as its parents. Until recently, it was used as a landscape plant in the United States, but it is now the subject of research interest because of its potentially great biomass production. In central Illinois, M. x g. begins growth in April, typically reaches 2 m by the end of May, and is normally greater than 3 m by the end of September. The grass is sterile and propagated asexually using plantlets produced in tissue culture or by rhizome divisions. Following field planting, it generally takes at least three growing seasons to become fully established and reach optimal biomass production. In central Illinois, the senesced stems are harvested from early December through early March and can potentially be treated to produce ligno-cellulosic ethanol. In University of Illinois, research started in 2002. M. x g. produced an annual average of 22.0 t/ha in northern Illinois, 34.7 t/ha in central Illinois, and 35.4 t/ha in southern Illinois per year in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
自2002年以来，伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校的研究人员一直在研究多年生暖季型草本植物巨芒草（Miscanthus x giganteus，简称M. x g.），以确定其作为生物质原料的潜力。巨芒草原产于日本，是一种杂交植物，据信其亲本为芒草（M. sinensis）和荻草（M. sacchariflorus）。直到最近，它在美国还被用作园林植物，但由于其潜在的巨大生物质产量，现在已成为研究热点。在伊利诺伊州中部，巨芒草4月开始生长，通常到5月底可达2米，到9月底通常超过3米。这种草是不育的，通过组织培养产生的幼苗或根茎分割进行无性繁殖。田间种植后，通常至少需要三个生长季节才能完全定植并达到最佳生物质产量。在伊利诺伊州中部，干枯的茎从12月初到3月初进行收割，有可能经过处理生产木质纤维素乙醇。在伊利诺伊大学，研究始于2002年。在2004年、2005年和2006年，伊利诺伊州北部的巨芒草年均产量为22.0吨/公顷，中部为34.7吨/公顷，南部为35.4吨/公顷。
