Engineering Advantages, Challenges and Status of Grass Energy Crops
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Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010. High yield with low inputs, resistance to disease, pests and drought, adaptation to a wide range of soils and climates, and biomass composition that is optimized for end use are identified as important traits for cellulosic biomass crops. Current status and future prospects for genetic improvement are reviewed for grass crops, using Miscanthus, switchgrass, sugarcane (or energy cane) and sorghum as examples. In addition, possible approaches for integrating grasses into cellulosic biomass supply systems are discussed. It is concluded that both perennial and annual grasses can play a significant role in providing cellulosic biomass for a wide range of bioenergy applications, and considerable potential exists for genetic improvement of grass crops for this purpose.