Last Updated on July 13, 2026 by Sophie Wilesmith
The first commercial planting of seed-based Miscanthus plugs in Germany marks a major milestone for the crop, building on more than 20 years of UK innovation and paving the way for wider adoption across the UK and Europe.
Currently, Miscanthus is grown from rhizome (rootstock). The commercial species of plants do not produce seed, and the only way to propagate the crop is to lift the rhizomes, split and replant them.
“You can only propagate rhizomes once every three years, as they need to grow to the right size. One hectare of a propagated rhizome crop yields 13-20 hectares of root stock. With seed, a one-hectare crossing block can produce 2,000 hectares of new crop, so the potential is vast,” explains Florian Ilias from UK-based Miscanthus specialist, Terravesta.
Advances in crop genetics, propagation and planting technology are now enabling the large-scale commercial production of seed-based crops. Lower per-plant costs allow for an increase in planting density from 17,000 rhizomes to over 20,000 seed-based plugs per hectare, resulting in higher yields and improved economics for growers.
“The real advantage is scale. We can establish seed-based Miscanthus much faster and with fewer people than crops grown from rhizomes,” Florian explains.
Increased demand for Miscanthus fibre
Demand for sustainable biomass is growing rapidly across Europe, the UK, Africa, and South America as governments and industry work towards net zero and a circular bioeconomy. Recognised as one of the leading perennial biomass crops to support this transition, Miscanthus has a wide range of applications, including renewable energy, sustainable construction materials, and bio-based products.
Policy ambition reflects this growing demand. Under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), Member States are incentivised to increase domestic biomass production, while in the UK the Climate Change Committee recommends planting 30,000 hectares of perennial biomass crops each year by 2035, rising to 700,000 hectares by 2050.
However, current planting falls far short of these ambitions. There are only around 20,000 hectares of Miscanthus across the EU and around 7,500 hectares in the UK. Advances in crop genetics and commercial plug planting are now helping to accelerate establishment, providing the scale needed to support the next phase of growth in the bioeconomy.
The first commercial plug planting
This spring 2026, the first commercial-scale planting of Miscanthus plugs grown from seed was successfully completed in Germany by Terravesta, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of Miscanthus establishment. Traditionally planted using rhizomes, commercial plug planting provides the practical route to establishing much larger areas of crop within the narrow planting window needed for large-scale deployment.
Across 12 hectares, 130,000 plugs were successfully planted and established.
“In this first step, we used a semi-automatic planter to plant these plugs, achieving a coverage of approximately 4.5 hectares per day at a density of 20,000. Now that we know it works, we can proceed to full automation. This will reduce the number of operators from five – one driver, and four people on the plug planter, to just two – one driver and one person feeding trays to the robot,” he says.
“Speed will also increase, potentially doubling the daily planting area. When planting rhizomes, we are well aware that some may appear healthy and alive, but will not actually sprout for one reason or another. With plugs, it is much easier to determine if a plug is alive by just looking at the leaves. This means that all 20,000 plants will be alive the moment they are planted. So there is a double effect here. There are higher planting densities in the first place, and more plants will survive.”
“This isn’t about replacing rhizomes,” says Florian Ilias. “It’s about unlocking scale. For Miscanthus to play the role needed in delivering net zero and supplying future bio-based industries, we need planting systems capable of establishing thousands of hectares efficiently. Commercial plug planting gets us much closer to that goal.”
Florian explains that while rhizome planting isn’t disappearing, plug planting is gaining traction as a complementary method, when the conditions are right. “For optimal results, growers need well-prepared, light fields, moist soil, timely rainfall after planting, and access to irrigation.
“Economically, the approach makes sense only for projects of 20+ hectares, as smaller areas can’t justify the logistical costs. Proximity also matters: shorter transport distances from nursery to field improve convenience for growers and ensure higher plug quality,” he says.
The German planting also demonstrated where future gains will come. “The plug planting in Germany has highlighted improvements which would increase the speed of planting.
“Work is already underway to develop fully automated planting systems with larger onboard storage, improved field resupply systems, and enhanced propagation trays that support stronger root development and faster planting,” says Florian.
“The breakthrough isn’t simply establishing more seed-based plugs,” explains Florian. “It’s developing a complete system that allows Miscanthus to be established at a commercial scale anywhere in the world.”
The first commercial planting of Miscanthus plugs demonstrates that one of the biggest barriers to expansion is now being overcome. The technology to scale Miscanthus is no longer a future ambition; it has arrived.
