Energy Crops

Dedicated energy crops are a type of biomass exclusively cultivated to generate biomass for electricity, heat, and power, and to make biofuels and other types of bioenergy on a renewable basis. This chapter points out agronomic characteristics and provides some examples of appropriate management practices for first-and second-generation energy crop production. It summarizes the relevant information available on primary production and general management aspects of representative well-known and new energy crops dedicated to the production of feedstock for liquid and solid biofuels. Apart from the well-known annual multipurpose crops such as maize and sugarcane, most second-generation energy crops are largely undomesticated and are at their early stages of development and management. However, second-generation crops (such as perennial grasses and woody crops) show some advantages over first-generation crops (mainly annual crops) in terms of agricultural inputs, yields, production costs, food security, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental sustainability.