Evaluation of triticale as energy crop in Italy

The promotion of renewable energy represents a target of the European 2020 strategy for economical growth and sustainable competitiveness. Cereals are considered a promising biomass producing crop in temperate regions of Europe to be used for both fuel alcohol and biogas production. Among cereals, triticale represents a good candidate for this kind of application, showing a number of advantages such as high grain yield even in marginal environments, tolerance to drought, tolerance to more acid soils, lower production costs and lower susceptibility to biotic stresses. The aim of this study was to compare yield and quality of eight triticale lines grown in marginal areas in a two-year experiment. Italian variety, Magistral, and a bread wheat variety (EW9) were selected for comparison. Data from fields, chemical analyses and preliminary results from fermentation are reported.