Basics of biomass production for the production of energy crops
On 14th of July 2020 Prof. Dr. Peter Westhoff, Head of the Institute for Developmental and Molecular Biology of Plants, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf and Director of the Botanical Garden Düsseldorf, took BLOOM participants on a stroll through the Botanical Garden in Düsseldorf.
In his Science Espresso he talked about how plants play a crucial role in the change towards a sustainable bio-economy. According to him plant and agricultural research can and must therefore also make an important contribution to the sustainable use of renewable resources.
During the guided tour of the Botanical Garden, Prof. Westhoff provided information on the subject of plant breeding and used various examples to illustrate the influence plant breeding has already had on our crops to date and the direction in which it can develop, e.g. through new cultivation systems such as the mixed culture Milpa.
Furthermore, he showed an “energy crops” station. Energy crops play an important role as biomass suppliers for the bio-economy. He gave insights into already established energy crops such as Miscanthus, but also newer ones such as Silphie or Sida were presented.
The event took place within the framework of the series “Zukunft Bioökonomie? – Ansätze, Sichtweisen und Perspektiven der Bioökonomie” and is a cooperation of the University of Düsseldorf, the Cluster of Excellence for Plant Sciences CEPLAS, the Wissenschaftsladen Bonn e. V. and the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities Essen.
