Farm-Scale Cost of Producing Perennial Energy Cane as a Biofuel Feedstock

Energy cane varieties are high-fiber sugarcane clones which represent a promising feedstock in the production of alternative biofuels and biobased products. This study explored the crop establishment and whole farm production costs of growing energy cane as a biofuel feedstock in the southeastern USA. More specifically, total production costs on a feedstock dry matter biomass basis were estimated for five perennial energy cane varieties over alternative crop cycle lengths. Variable production costs for energy cane production were estimated to be in the $63 to$76 Mg-1 range of biomass dry matter for crop cycles through harvest of fourth through sixth stubble crops. Total production costs, including charges for fixed equipment costs, general farm overhead, and land rent, were estimated to range between $105 and$127 Mg-1 of feedstock biomass dry matter material. © 2013 The Author(s)

Feedstock Crop Production Costs and Biofuel Feedstock Input Costs Associated with the Production of Energy Cane and Sweet Sorghum in the Southeastern USA

© 2017, The Author(s). Concentration of biofuel feedstock crop production in specific regions of the USA is dependent on the relative comparative advantage of production in a specific region based on several agronomic and economic factors. For the southeastern region of the USA, energy cane and sweet sorghum have been identified as two feedstock crops with the greatest potential for further development of production. This study utilized field trial data from yield studies in Louisiana to develop estimates of feedstock crop production costs and biofuel feedstock input costs for these two crops. Results indicated that feedstock production costs on a harvest yield basis, as well as the related dry matter basis, were heavily dependent on yield level. Economic research from this study indicated that energy cane had a slight cost advantage compared with sweet sorghum, although production of sorghum in certain periods during the growing season was very cost competitive with energy cane

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

Planting Rate Effects on Sugarcane Yield Trials

ABSTRACT Temperate sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) growing regions, such as Louisiana, often use higher planting rates than tropical and subtropical sugarcane growing regions. The common production practice in Louisiana is to use three to four whole-stalks (lines) placed along side each other when planting sugarcane. The LSU AgCenter's sugarcane breeding program uses a two whole-stalk planting rate in all stages of the program. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of planting rate on sugar yield and its components in sugarcane yield trials. A second objective was to determine characteristics affecting bud germination of different sugarcane genotypes. Two experiments were conducted during 2000 through 2004 at two locations at the Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel, Louisiana. Eight sugarcane genotypes were planted at planting rates of two, three, and four whole stalks. Data were collected in the plant-cane through third ratoon crops. The lack of a sugarcane planting rate by genotype interaction indicated that sugarcane genotypes performed similarly in yield trials whether a twostalk, three-stalk, or four-stalk planting rate was used. Only differences in magnitude were observed for the planting rates, which is of only minor consequence in breeding programs. Another experiment was conducted in 2002 with the same set of genotypes and germination traits were assessed. Correlation coefficients indicated no negative relationship s for percent germination. The current use of a two-stalk planting rate in sugarcane selection and yield trials within the breeding program appears valid

An enriched sugarcane diversity panel for utilization in genetic improvement of sugarcane

Abstract Sugarcane crop is important for both sugar and biofuels. A world collection of sugarcane and related grasses (WCSRG) maintained at Miami, FL contains > 1,200 non-redundant clones of different species and genera within the Saccharum complex. However, linkage of undesirable alleles with useful genes in wild species has hindered its efficient utilization in sugarcane breeding. A core collection developed previously with smaller number of clones representing WCSRG did not take into account > 120 wild/exotic clones maintained at the USDA-ARS Sugarcane Research Unit in Houma, Louisiana. Moreover, the genome complexity and sub-tropical to temperate growing climate of Louisiana warrant a region-specific core collection that can be used for base-broadening breeding aimed at efficient introgression of desirable alleles. Genetic diversity of 1,485 clones within WCSRG and Louisiana (commercials, wild/exotic) using 423 SSR alleles showed an average gene diversity (h) at 0.208 among all species groups where Erianthus-like Saccharum species (ELSS), Miscanthus spp., and S. spontaneum each formed a distinct cluster, Saccharum robustum, S. officinarum, hybrid cultivars, and S. edule grouped together in a major cluster, and Saccharum sinense and S. barberi formed distinct grouping. A 309-clone diversity panel (SDP1) was developed that captured the genetic diversity based on the combination of maximum length subtree and manual selection to maximize representation of Louisiana clones and minimize import of clones from Miami. SDP1 shared 324 alleles out of the 423 alleles in the entire population of 1,485 clones and captured the genetic diversity of the entire collection with an average gene diversity (h) at 0.163. The variation within (11–17%) and among (83–89%) the populations in SDP1 were comparable with the entire population of 1,485 clones (9–15% and 85–91%, respectively). The breadth of the genetic variation of SDP1 was exemplified by the intra- and inter-specific diversity of a 190-clone mini-core collection with markers derived from known cold-responsive genes. SDP1 will facilitate genome-wide association studies for identification of trait-specific markers for use in marker-assisted breeding in Louisiana and elsewhere

Feedstock Crop Production Costs and Biofuel Feedstock Input Costs Associated with the Production of Energy Cane and Sweet Sorghum in the Southeastern USA

© 2017, The Author(s). Concentration of biofuel feedstock crop production in specific regions of the USA is dependent on the relative comparative advantage of production in a specific region based on several agronomic and economic factors. For the southeastern region of the USA, energy cane and sweet sorghum have been identified as two feedstock crops with the greatest potential for further development of production. This study utilized field trial data from yield studies in Louisiana to develop estimates of feedstock crop production costs and biofuel feedstock input costs for these two crops. Results indicated that feedstock production costs on a harvest yield basis, as well as the related dry matter basis, were heavily dependent on yield level. Economic research from this study indicated that energy cane had a slight cost advantage compared with sweet sorghum, although production of sorghum in certain periods during the growing season was very cost competitive with energy cane

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