Arundo micrantha Lam. as an alternative to Arundo donax L. as energy crop in saline soils irrigated with treated urban wastewaters

• Published in: Plant biosystems 2020-07, Vol.154 (4), p.560-567
• Main Authors: Tomàs, J., Mateu, J., Gil, L., Boira, H., Llorens, L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arundo donax; Arundo micrantha; bioenergy; Biomass; Biomass energy production; Crop yield; Crops; Cultivation; Dry matter; Energy; energy crop; Energy crops; Introduced species; Invasive species; perennial rhizomatous grasses; Saline soils; Soil treatment; treated urban wastewaters; Wastewater treatment
• ISSN: 1126-3504; 1724-5575
• DOI: 10.1080/11263504.2019.1651779

This study reports the first data collected for the perennial grass Arundo micrantha Lam. as a new energy crop. To determine the yield of biomass production of indigenous A. micrantha, we cultivated it in Pla de Sant Jordi (Mallorca, Spain) during the 2013-2016 growing seasons in marginal soils, irrigating it with treated urban wastewaters (TUWW). Arundo donax was cultivated in the same field conditions as a reference energy crop. Our results show that A. micrantha has a remarkable yield determined by a higher density of stems per area and a greater difference between the external and internal diameter. Furthermore, A. micrantha maintained most of its leaf mass in winter, while A. donax was defoliated by 80%. Comparing energy parameters, A. micrantha performed very similar to A. donax. However, A. micrantha produced more dry matter (67 t ha −1 ) than A. donax (54 t ha −1 ) after the third year of crop establishment, showing a possible subsequent positive trend. Our results point towards the indigenous Mediterranean A. micrantha as a promising energy crop that can be cultivated in marginal soils to provide biomass for energy production purposes, even outperforming the more invasive species.