Within the frame of REBIOCHEM project funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research within the cluster on Green Chemistry, the paper aims at (i) assessing the potential ability of different cardoon accessions in terms of biomass production, (ii) selecting the most interesting genotypes and stabilizing them for genetic performances, (iii) evaluating selected genotypes for salt tolerance. Six accessions were evaluated by previously established morphological descriptors along a 3-year experiment, while 29 new accessions were recently collected and are currently being analyzed; all germplasm is now grown in a regional farmland of central Italy. Levels of genetic diversity in relation to biomass production and relatedness among accessions have been assessed. Development of stable selected lines is in progress. Some cardoon genotypes have been selected for specifically targeted raw material utilization such as aboveground biomass for extraction of useful compounds. The versatility of the cardoon biomass suggests its use as feedstock for different purposes, also implying an added value to the crop within a biorefinery context.

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