Demonstrator Hub Updates – October 2024

Progress across the Biomass Connect sites demonstrates encouraging growth and development as crops transition into the autumn season. Many species, such as SRF alder and poplar, are progressing through senescence, with leaves turning yellow or brown and beginning to fall. Eucalyptus remains actively growing in some locations, supported by warmer-than-average conditions, although staking adjustments were necessary to prevent wind damage.

Miscanthus plots continue to perform well, reaching heights of over 2 meters at several sites. While M. giganteus exhibits strong stands with minimal lodging, Athena shows slightly more lodging but remains competitive against weeds. SRC willow demonstrates clear allelopathy, with canopy cover naturally suppressing weeds in some areas, though differences in leaf retention are observed among varieties.

Management activities, such as mowing, phenotyping, and targeted weed control using glyphosate and other treatments, are supporting crop health and performance. Although some challenges, such as high weed pressure in reed canary grass and slow growth in Sida, persist, overall crop health is strong with minimal pest or disease impact across the trials.

As usual, there are links to updates from the demonstrator hubs below for you to see what has been happening around the country.

Demonstrator Hub Updates October 2024

• BGI
• SRUC (Ayrshire)
• SRUC (Edinburgh)
• North Wyke
• NIAB Headley Hall
• Newcastle University
• AFBI Hillsborough
• IBERS, Aberystwyth

The reports above include a large selection of photos of all crops from across all of the sites. Here are just a few of them to give you a taste of what the sites looked like during October 2024.