Mules And Miscanthus: U Of I Team Offers Growing Tips For New Biofuel Crop

Published: Sep. 6, 2007

Source: Tom Voigt (217) 333-7847; Stephen Long (217) 333-2487

URBANA - John Caveny, a Piatt County farmer, compares Giant Miscanthus to a mule.

Giant Miscanthus, a tall, perennial grass, is the sterile cross between two plants, and a mule is the sterile result of a cross between a horse and a donkey. The $1 million question is whether Giant Miscanthus, like a mule, can take on a heavy load - in this case, the job of freeing the U.S. from its dependence on overseas petroleum. Giant Miscanthus is one of the leading candidates for cellulosic ethanol production.

University of Illinois researchers have successfully established Giant Miscanthus at northern, central and southern Illinois sites, ranging from DeKalb to Dixon Springs.

U of I ACES News, Sept. 6, 2007