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Improving the Ecological Performance of Miscanthus ( Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deuter) through Intercropping with Woad ( Isatis tinctoria L.) and Yellow Melilot ( Melilotus officinalis L.)

Author

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  • Moritz von Cossel

    (Department of Biobased Products and Energy Crops (340b), Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 23, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Yasir Iqbal

    (College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, Hunan, China)

  • Iris Lewandowski

    (Department of Biobased Products and Energy Crops (340b), Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 23, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany)

Abstract

Miscanthus is a promising high-yielding and low-input perennial biomass crop. However, as miscanthus does not produce nectar, it provides less support for pollinators than other perennial biomass crops, such as cup plant, Virginia mallow, or wild plant mixtures. This study discusses whether miscanthus could be intercropped with flower-rich biennial wild plants to further enhance its ecological functioning. In 2017, a demonstration plot was established in southwest Germany with two miscanthus intercropping regimes: woad (WAM) and yellow melilot (YAM). Both woad and melilot reached full bloom in 2018, the second year of cultivation. The flowering period of woad started and ended earlier than that of melilot. Woad remained harvestable until spring 2019, whereas the aboveground melilot was destroyed by brown hare in autumn 2018. However, the shed seeds of melilot reemerged homogeneously in 2019. The miscanthus developed better in YAM than WAM. This was most likely due to (i) stronger competition for water, nutrients, and light in WAM and (ii) nitrogen fixation advantage in melilot. These results indicate that the ecological performance of miscanthus could be improved by intercropping with melilot. Thus, we propose to further investigate the effects of intercropping on both the productivity and quality of miscanthus biomass.

Suggested Citation

  • Moritz von Cossel & Yasir Iqbal & Iris Lewandowski, 2019. "Improving the Ecological Performance of Miscanthus ( Miscanthus × giganteus Greef et Deuter) through Intercropping with Woad ( Isatis tinctoria L.) and Yellow Melilot ( Melilotus officinalis L.)," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-12, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:9:y:2019:i:9:p:194-:d:264922
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Von Cossel, M. & Lebendig, F. & Müller, M. & Hieber, C. & Iqbal, Y. & Cohnen, J. & Jablonowski, N.D., 2022. "Improving combustion quality of Miscanthus by adding biomass from perennial flower-rich wild plant species," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    3. Janusch, C. & Lewin, E.F. & Battaglia, M.L. & Rezaei-Chiyaneh, E. & Von Cossel, M., 2021. "Flower-power in the bioenergy sector – A review on second generation biofuel from perennial wild plant mixtures," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    4. Moritz von Cossel & Anja Mangold & Yasir Iqbal & Iris Lewandowski, 2019. "Methane Yield Potential of Miscanthus ( Miscanthus × giganteus (Greef et Deuter)) Established under Maize ( Zea mays L.)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Dubis, Bogdan & Jankowski, Krzysztof Józef & Załuski, Dariusz & Sokólski, Mateusz, 2020. "The effect of sewage sludge fertilization on the biomass yield of giant miscanthus and the energy balance of the production process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).

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