The perspective of growing non-food crops in changing climate conditions

Abstract

Non-food crops play significant role in bioeconomy. The interest in such crops is increasing with the new technologies linked to the reduction of non-biodegradable materials in our life. Many worm climate countries are known for their high-yielding crops which could be used for the production of bioplastics, bioliquids, biofuels or other products, but in Northern climate countries this section is new. The main reasons are the short vegetation season and cold weather conditions during the winter. More than ten years ago we could not imagine growing such crops as Miscanthus in our country but changing climate conditions and progress in science may be beneficent for new crop integration in our country. It is expected that new crops could positively affect the bioeconomy as well as contribute to the climate change mitigation. The present study includes the information about the growing and use of non-food crops in different countries (project PANACEA data) and evaluation of the growing intensity of non-food crops such as Miscanthus giganteus, Artemisia dubia, Sida hermaphrodita, Silphium perfoliatum in Northern part of temperate climate conditions. As the result of the experiments it is indicated that those crops could be perspective in our country. The highest yield is produced by Miscanthus giganteus, but other ones, for example Artemisia dubia could be beneficent for its chemical components.