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DOI 10.36461/NP.2023.65.1.015
USE OF THE MULTIPURPOSE CROP MISCANTHUS GIGANTEUS IN LANDSCAPE PHYTODESIGN
V.A. Gushchina, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor; A.S. Lykova, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor; N.I. Ostroborodova, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor; A.A. Volodkin, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor
Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Penza State Agrarian University", Penza, Russia, tel. (8412) 628-367, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The main raw material for cellulose production is wood, which is also used as fuel, but it takes at least 80 years for forests to regenerate. Therefore, there is a need to find other possible sources of energy and cellulose. Miscanthus giganteus can be used as a promising renewable raw material, which is an alternative not only to forest crops but also to ornamental ones. In this regard, studies on the introduction of Miscanthus on light gray soils have been conducted since 2013 in the Middle Volga Region (which belongs to the zone of unstable mois-ture). In the first year of planting, well-formed plants produced an above-ground yield of 14 t/ha with sufficient moisture. In the second year it doubled, and in the third year it reached 36 t/ha despite dry conditions. The following two years were the most productive, when 40 and 41 t/ha were obtained with sufficient moisture. In the hyperarid years 2018, 2019 it decreased by 9 and 11 t/ha compared to the fifth year of life. The vegetation periods 2020 and 2021 were favourable, but precipitation fell earlier or later than the critical phases of miscan-thus development, resulting in yield reductions of up to 25 t/ha. Weakening of the plants in the tenth year of life due to partial death of the rhizomes caused by over-watering resulted in a decrease in stem density and yield to 23.5 t/ha. On average, 31.3 t/ha of energy biomass can be formed per year from the second year of life, which is equivalent to wood in terms of cellulose content depending on the age of the plants (48.10-59.81%), and in terms of calorific value, the raw material meets European standards. A tall Miscanthus with brightly colored pendulous leaves and anthocyanin coloring at the nodes allows it to be used as an accent plant in ornamental landscaping.
Keywords: Miscanthus giganteus, introduction, yield, cellulose, calorific value, ornamental grass, aesthetics.
