Researchers say growing grasses on some U.S. farmland used for corn ethanol production would mean higher corn yields and more ethanol output per acre.

Scientists at the University of Illinois say the switch to grasses on the least productive areas of farmland would improve groundwater quality and cut emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.

The researchers conducted computer modeling of plant growth and soil chemistry to compare the ecological effects of growing corn or the grasses miscanthus or switchgrass, a UI release said Tuesday.

Switching 30 percent of the least productive corn acres to miscanthus offered the most ecological advantages, they found.

"If cellulosic feedstocks (such as miscanthus) were planted on cropland that is currently used for ethanol production in the U.S., we could achieve more ethanol (plus 82 percent) and grain for food (plus 4 percent), while reducing nitrogen leaching (minus 15 to 22 percent) and greenhouse gas emissions (minus 29 percent to 473 percent)," the researchers said.

Miscanthus has been grown in thick stands up to 13 feet tall in test plots in Illinois.

It does well on marginal land without being fertilized, so using it as a biofuel feedstock instead of corn would eliminate a major source of air and water pollution, the researchers said.

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