GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY OF GIANT MISCANTHUS

Abstract

Miscanthus giant is one of the perspective crops for the soil and climatic zone of Ukraine, which is grown as raw material for processing into solid biofuels. However, for industrial use there is no cultivation technology adapted to the conditions of Ukraine. One of the promising directions is to study the conditions of giant miscanthus productivity increasing on the basis of determining the features of plant growth and development, improving the elements of cultivation technology in the conditions of the Western Forest Steppe. As a result of the observations and calculations, the peculiarities of plant growth and development in the first and subsequent years of vegetation and the formation of the above ground mass (biomass) of giant miscanthus were analyzed, depending on the soil and climatic conditions of cultivation. The regularities of growth conditions dependens, development and formation of miscanthus productivity due to influence of agrotechnical factors of planting density and mass of rhizomes are established in the study. Biometric indices of giant miscanthus plants in sprout height for October make a maximum value of 159 cm for planting density of 15 thousand plants / ha with mass of rhizomes 41-70 g. The maximum value of the biomass yield indicator was noted for planting density study of 15,000 units / ha with rhizomes of 41-70 g, which averaged 18.5 tons / ha during the years of analysis. Based on the results of the research, for providing a high productivity of miscanthus giant plants as raw material for Western Forest-Steppe biofuel production, the planting density of 15 thousand plants / ha with rhizomes 41-70 g is recommended. Improved technology for the cultivation of giant miscanthus for biofuel production is proposed.