In MAGIC the most promising industrial crops (20) to be grown on marginal lands facing natural constraints were selected, which can be grouped as follows: a) oilseeds: camelina, crambe, Ethiopian mustard, castor been, safflower, pennycress, b) carbohydrate: lupin, sorghum and c) lignocellulosic including fibre crops (industrial hemp and sorghum), perennial herbaceous (switchgrass, giant reed, miscanthus, reed canary grass, tall wheat grass, cardoon) and woody species (willow, poplar, eucalyptus, black locust and Siberian Elm).
New breeding tools and strategies have been developed to accelerate the genetic improvement of biomass yields and quality of the selected industrial crops. Two parallel approaches have been employed; a) Universal genetic markers for fibre quality have been identified using forward genetics (from phenotype to candidate genes) and b) Universal candidate genes responsible for oil quality have been validated using a reverse genetics (from candidate gene to phenotype) approach. A set of varieties / genotypes (crambe, camelina, hemp and miscanthus) have been selected (based on previous research projects findings) and were distributed to the partners for field trials.
For the selected crops a large number of field trials have been carried out for at least three subsequent years throughout Europe (including Ukraine) as well as pot trials for testing the adaptability and productivity of the selected industrial crops on contaminated lands with heavy metals. Moreover, a large number of already established field trials on previous research projects on marginal lands (giant reed, switchgrass, miscanthus, willow and poplar) for perennial industrial crops have been continued in MAGIC and valuable long-term data was collected. The field trials established in MAGIC under an effective combination of low-inputs in accordance with the specific marginality factors of each field trial. Trials covered the majority of the marginality factors as those described in JRC report with the addition of contaminated land. Moreover, previously established field trials of perennial crops on marginal land had been maintained in order to continue collecting long-term annual yield performance. Guidelines for farmers on how to grow industrial crops on marginal land were prepared and distributed and discussed with farmers in the national workshops of the project.
Four tools have been developed and are available online in the project website: a) a data base for industrial crops that can be grown on marginal lands (MAGIC-CROPS), b) maps with the marginal lands in Europe (MAGIC-MAPS), c) a decision support system for farmers and relevant stakeholders (MAGIC-DSS) and d) Bio2March tool where the biomass produced by each industrial crop match with the end use.
The efficiency of biomass supply chains of industrial crops were improved through the design of new harvesting and logistics systems, optimized to meet the needs of the targeted conversion process. Technologies tailored to the characteristics of the specific crops grown on marginal land are being developed through comprehensive data collection ad hoc field trials. A generic tool is being expanded and adapted to ensure an optimal match between the potential production of biomass from marginal lands and candidate conversion processes, resulting in an economically sound demand-driven approach to bio-based projects.
The Good Practice Cases in European regions and clusters have been mapped. These good practice cases are being analyzed to maximize insight on the context of using marginal land for cropping, the state and prospects for industrial crops, the conditions framing their cultivation and the supply chains as well as their operational capacities across time and development stages. Policy recommendations per participating country have been developed for growing industrial crops on marginal lands.
MAGIC established a direct communication with EIP AGRI and its structures . In collaboration with PANACEA project proposed a new focus group (FG 40) on industrial crops that was run in 2020.
