Biomass Production of Herbaceous Energy Crops in the United States: Field Trial Results and Yield Potential Maps from the Multiyear Regional Feedstock Partnership

Current knowledge of yield potential and best agronomic management practices for perennial bioenergy grasses is primarily derived from small‐scale and short‐term studies, yet these studies inform policy at the national scale. In an effort to learn more about how bioenergy grasses perform across multiple locations and years, the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE)/Sun Grant Initiative Regional Feedstock Partnership was initiated in 2008. The objectives of the Feedstock Partnership were to (1) provide a wide range of information for feedstock selection (species choice) and management practice options for a variety of regions and (2) develop national maps of potential feedstock yield for each of the herbaceous species evaluated. The Feedstock Partnership expands our previous understanding of the bioenergy potential of switchgrass, Miscanthus, sorghum, energycane, and prairie mixtures on Conservation Reserve Program land by conducting long‐term, replicated trials of each species at diverse environments in the U.S. Trials were initiated between 2008 and 2010 and completed between 2012 and 2015 depending on species. Field‐scale plots were utilized for switchgrass and Conservation Reserve Program trials to use traditional agricultural machinery. This is important as we know that the smaller scale studies often overestimated yield potential of some of these species. Insufficient vegetative propagules of energycane and Miscanthus prohibited farm‐scale trials of these species. The Feedstock Partnership studies also confirmed that environmental differences across years and across sites had a large impact on biomass production. Nitrogen application had variable effects across feedstocks, but some nitrogen fertilizer generally had a positive effect. National yield potential maps were developed using PRISM‐ELM for each species in the Feedstock Partnership. This manuscript, with the accompanying supplemental data, will be useful in making decisions about feedstock selection as well as agronomic practices across a wide region of the country

Biomass production of herbaceous energy crops in the United States: field trial results and yield potential maps from the multiyear regional feedstock partnership

Current knowledge of yield potential and best agronomic management practices for perennial bioenergy grasses is primarily derived from small-scale and short-term studies, yet these studies inform policy at the national scale. In an effort to learn more about how bioenergy grasses perform across multiple locations and years, the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE)/Sun Grant Initiative Regional Feedstock Partnership was initiated in 2008. The objectives of the Feedstock Partnership were to (1) provide a wide range of information for feedstock selection (species choice) and management practice options for a variety of regions and (2) develop national maps of potential feedstock yield for each of the herbaceous species evaluated. The Feedstock Partnership expands our previous understanding of the bioenergy potential of switchgrass, Miscanthus, sorghum, energycane, and prairie mixtures on Conservation Reserve Program land by conducting long-term, replicated trials of each species at diverse environments in the U.S. Trials were initiated between 2008 and 2010 and completed between 2012 and 2015 depending on species. Field-scale plots were utilized for switchgrass and Conservation Reserve Program trials to use traditional agricultural machinery. This is important as we know that the smaller scale studies often overestimated yield potential of some of these species. Insufficient vegetative propagules of energycane and Miscanthus prohibited farm-scale trials of these species. The Feedstock Partnership studies also confirmed that environmental differences across years and across sites had a large impact on biomass production. Nitrogen application had variable effects across feedstocks, but some nitrogen fertilizer generally had a positive effect. National yield potential maps were developed using PRISM-ELM for each species in the Feedstock Partnership. This manuscript, with the accompanying supplemental data, will be useful in making decisions about feedstock selection as well as agronomic practices across a wide region of the country

Optimization of the Composition of a Novel Bioactive Silage Produced by Mixing of Ground Maize Grains with Olive Mill Waste Waters, Grape Pomace and Feta Cheese Whey

In this work, the production of a novel and sustainable silage was realized and optimized. Three agro-industrial wastes produced in bulk: olive mill wastewater (OMWW), grape pomace (GP) and de-proteinized feta cheese whey (DFCW) were mixed with coarsely ground maize grains, and the mixture was inoculated with commercial lactic bacteria starter culture and fermented for 30 days under anaerobic conditions to obtain silage. Sixty-seven recipes with varying compositions of the three agro-wastes were ensilaged, and four silage quality indices: pH value, % acidity as lactic acid, total lactobacillus count (cfu/g) and total yeast and mold count (cfu/g) were monitored throughout the ensilage process, and the obtained data were used to perform multicriteria optimization of the silage composition. The optimization target was to simultaneously maximize the pH drop, % total acidity as lactic acid and lactobacillus count while minimizing the count of undesirable yeasts and molds. Following this optimization strategy, it was found that the best composition of the mixture of all three tested agro-industrial wastes to obtain a high-quality silage was the one containing: 20% w/w GP, 60% w/w OMWW and 20% w/w feta cheese whey. Finally, the produced silage was tested in broilers’ nutrition and by 10% w/w inclusion in the feed, which led to the production of high added-value bioactive meat rich in ω-3 fatty acids and with high antioxidant capacity. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Effect of an Herbal Mixture of Oregano, Garlic, Sage and Rock Samphire Extracts in Combination with Tributyrin on Growth Performance, Intestinal Microbiota and Morphology, and Meat Quality in Broilers

The present study investigated the effects of two feed additives, the first containing an herbal mixture of oregano, garlic, sage, and rock samphire extracts and the second containing tributyrin (glyceryl tributyrate) when fed to broiler chickens. A total of 360 one-day-old chicks were randomly allocated to four treatments (6 replicate pens of 15 chicks). One treatment served as the unsupplemented control, whereas the feeds of the other three treatments were supplemented either with the herbal additive (3 g/kg), the tributyrin additive (1 g/kg), or both additives. The duration of the trial was 37 days. Data were collected on growth performance, intestinal microbiota and morphology, and some meat quality parameters. The combined supplementation improved (p < 0.05) weigh gain, feed conversion ratio, and the European Efficiency Factor. In the cecum, the combined supplementation lowered (p < 0.05) the microbial populations of aerobes, anaerobes, Escherichia coli, total Enterobacteriaceae, and Clostridium spp. compared to the other treatments. Fecal coccidial oocyst counts were also reduced (p < 0.01) by the combined supplementation. The herbal mixture supplementation improved (p < 0.05) breast and thigh meat resistance to oxidation. In conclusion, the combined dietary supplementation with the examined feed additives could be utilized to improve the performance and intestinal health of broiler chickens. © 2022 by the authors

Evidence for landscape-level, pollen-mediated gene flow from genetically modified creeping bentgrass with CP4 EPSPS as a marker

Sampling methods and results of a gene flow study are described that will be of interest to plant scientists, evolutionary biologists, ecologists, and stakeholders assessing the environmental safety of transgenic crops. This study documents gene flow on a landscape level from creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.), one of the first wind-pollinated, perennial, and highly outcrossing transgenic crops being developed for commercial use. Most of the gene flow occurred within 2 km in the direction of prevailing winds. The maximal gene flow distances observed were 21 km and 14 km in sentinel and resident plants, respectively, that were located in primarily nonagronomic habitats. The selectable marker used in these studies was the CP4 EPSPS gene derived from Agrobacterium spp. strain CP4 that encodes 5-enol-pyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase and confers resistance to glyphosate herbicide. Evidence for gene flow to 75 of 138 sentinel plants of A. stolonifera and to 29 of 69 resident Agrostis plants was based on seedling progeny survival after spraying with glyphosate in greenhouse assays and positive TraitChek, PCR, and sequencing results. Additional studies are needed to determine whether introgression will occur and whether it will affect the ecological fitness of progeny or the structure of plant communities in which transgenic progeny may become established