Why do basic research? A lesson from commercial exploitation of Miscanthus

Abstract

The practical agricultural development of new crops can gain significant impetus from parallel physiological studies. Had the rather simple experiment of Clifton-Brown and Lewandowski (2000) been conducted 8-10 years earlier, many frustrations and million Euros could have been saved. With the current broadening of the genetic base of Miscanthus, reduction in costs of establishment and improved understanding of the causality of winter failure, the process of transferring this wild grass into an efficient and environmentally benign European biomass crop is back on track.