Elephant Grass in Southern Hesse – Miscanthus Gersprenztal – Video

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Elephant Grass in Southern Hesse - Miscanthus Gersprenztal
Werner Germann, a heating technician from Brensbach (county of Odenwald), became familiar with the cultivation of Miscanthus during a trip to Austria in 2006 and brought the idea back to southern Hesse. Miscanthus, also known as elephant grass or Chinese silver grass, should become the material to heat his company building, by growing it in the region. Mr. Germann found seven farmers willing to cultivate this new plant and together they established the Miscanthus Gersprenztal Company. Today, he manages the company along with farmer Timo Bck. The area under cultivation has increased to 100 acres. Miscanthus offers a new possibility to obtain energy from agricultural land and enlarge the source of raw materials for bioenergy. From the view of crop production, Miscanthus is considered a low-input plant. Once planted as a permanent crop, the soil requires no further treatment and as a rule, no further pest control. With regards to energy use for cultivation, Miscanthus is good value. It dries on the fields over winter and because of its low moisture residue amounting to only 15%, it needs no additional drying after harvesting. In winter, Miscanthus transfers its nutrients from its leaves and stems into the roots and requires no additional fertilizer after the first year. Being harvested at the end of March, Miscanthus is one of the few crops remaining on the fields over winter. It offers wild animals a retreat from an otherwise bare landscape. Miscanthus is planted as a ...From:wi2011pfViews:1 0ratingsTime:03:41More inScience Technology

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Elephant Grass in Southern Hesse - Miscanthus Gersprenztal - Video