15-09: Optimisation and matching of energy grass feedstocks

There are two strategies for sourcing bioenergy feedstocks: firstly the use of existing crops currently used for food, feed or fibre; and secondly the development of new dedicated crops. Forage and energy grasses, such as perennial-ryegrass and Miscanthus, have the advantage of being able to grow on more marginal land and therefore avoid direct competition with primary food production. These grasses can provide high sugar wet biomass or low moisture lignocellulosic biomass, respectively, that are suited to different end uses. However new crops need to be domesticated to optimise them for cultivation and conversion.  The primary targets of an energy grass breeding programme are therefore: high yields which are persistent and stable; high quality stable composition; and sustainability with low input requirements. Biomass yield is key to ensure that the land take by energy crops is minimised and that the economics and logistics are optimised. The establishment of the relationship between biomass quality, conversion efficiency and end product characteristics will enable fuel specification and feedstock matching. The plant breeding of new crops requires the collection of genetic resources from a wide range of geographies and climates. This material then needs to be characterised including by assessment in the target areas of cultivation. Given the urgency of climate change it is necessary to deploy the armoury of modern molecular biology technologies, including high throughput DNA sequencing, genotyping, phenotyping and conversion assays. Such information can then be integrated to enable more rapid plant breeding by using marker assisted breeding or genetic manipulation.