Evaluation of energy cane for potential bioenergy production through the use of a semi -mechanistic crop model

Energy cane is a dedicated bioenergy crop with tremendous hybrid vigor to sustain high biomass yields. It is expected to perform well even beyond the traditional sugarcane growing areas of the USA.  Mathematical models are useful to evaluate not only the impact of climactic conditions on yields but also potential traits for improvement, ahead of a lengthy breeding program.  Therefore, a semi-mechanistic crop model (BioCro) was parameterized and calibrated in order to predict the potential biomass yield of energy cane in the USA. Some environmental implications of large scale energy cane production are also discussed.