Biomass Yield and Nitrogen Status of Energy Crops: Science Review - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Biomass Yield and Nitrogen Status of Energy Crops: Science Review Dr. Ron Gehl Dept. of Soil Science NC State University

Uniqueness of the proposed cropping systems for sprayfields in NC Dedicated biomass crops typically harvested post-  senescence in late fall/winter Managed to REDUCE required inputs while maximizing  yield Perennial nutrient cycling  Goal here is to maximize yield and maximize N removal  The proposed system will fertilize crops that are not  “typically” fertilized

Background Review of literature conducting in spring 2011, includes  relevant peer-reviewed science articles – national and international Also, preliminary (unpublished) data from multiple NC  biomass study sites Target was data reporting nutrient concentration and/or  yield at various times during growing season Crops of interest included switchgrass, sorghums, giant  miscanthus, and arundo donax Presented to INMC committee on 6/24/2011 

Switchgrass Warm season C4 native grass  Production life of 10-20 yrs  Two main “types”:  Lowland – southern US  Upland – mid to northern US  Common as hay/pasture  crop throughout US

Switchgrass Reported yields range from 0.4-15 T/ac  Low end reported average 4 T/yr  High end reported average ~7 T/yr  3+ years in field to reach these yields  N is rarely recommended in Y1 due to weed pressure  N cntn reported between 0.3-1.5%, removal ranging to  up to 191 lb N/ac University N recommendations range from 60-160 lb  N/ac after Y1; NCDA recommends 120-160 lb N/ac

Sorghum Warm season, short day annual grasses  Two primary types  Forage (fiber)  Grain  Forage sorghums include:  Hybrid forage sorghum  Sweet sorghum  Sudangrass  Sorghum x sudan hybrids 

Sweet sorghum Is a forage/fiber sorghum with  relatively high sugar content – reported range 12-20% 1 st and 2 nd generation biofuel  source Reported yields range from 3.4-  16 T/ac Low end reported average ~8 T/yr  High end reported average ~13 T/yr  Nitrogen removal ranged from 43-  180 lb N/ac

Fiber/forage sorghum Reported yields range from 3.4-16 T/ac  Low end reported average ~5 T/yr  High end reported average ~8 T/yr  Nitrogen removal ranged from 56-167 lb N/ac  Largely dependent on specific varieties/hybrids used  Sudangrass and Sorghum x sudangrass may have above-  average N removal Default N rate (NC) is 45-55 lb/T 

Giant Reed (Arundo donax) Large rapidly growing C3 perennial  Rhizomatous  Not truly sterile, but viable seed production extremely  rare Invasive in riparian environments  of some western states Widely adaptable to soils and  environment

Giant Reed (Arundo donax) Large increase in yields from Y1  Y2  Y3  Reported yields range from 1-20+ T/ac  Low end reported average 4.6 T/yr  High end reported average 12.4 T/yr  3+ years in field to reach these yields  Nitrogen cntn. in harvested tissue ranged widely, from  0.2-2.9% Calculated N removal ranged from 5-497 lb N/ac  NC data shows winter harvested Adx yielded 9-13 T/ac  and removed 66-241 lb N/ac after Y1

Giant Miscanthus Rhizomatous perennial C4 grass  Naturally occurring STERILE triploid hybrid  Vegetatively propagated  Well-adapted to soil and landscape position  Typically not fertilized with N –  some recs call for 40-90 lb N/ac after year 2 or 3 Association with N-fixing bacteria 

Giant Miscanthus Substantial increase in yields from Y1  Y2  Y3  Reported yields range from 1-20 T/ac  Low end reported average 5 T/yr  High end reported average 12 T/yr  3+ years in field to reach these yields  Reported fertilizer demand ranged from 36-167 lb N/ac  Limited N 15 work, but one study reports up to 68%  recovery in year 3

Giant Miscanthus ( Modified to include Dohleman et al., 2012 ) Nitrogen cntn. in harvested tissue ranged widely, from  0.1-1.4% Calculated N content ranged from 8-303 lb N/ac  Summer harvested N content ranged from 104-303 lb  N/ac NC data (Gehl, unpublished) shows N removal of 79 –  158 lb N/ac from 2-cut system harvested after Y1, unfertilized Mxg

Relative Growth Rate: Arundo and Miscanthus Arundo 100 Miscanthus 80 Relative Growth (%) 60 40 20 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Adapted from Nassi et al. 2011. Productivity of giant reed (Arundo donax L.) and miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus Greef et Deuter) as energy crops: growth analysis. Italian Journal of Agronomy 6:e22: 141-147.

Preliminary data: Miscanthus multi-cut trial at MHCRS. 2 seasons in field. Nutrient removal summer harvest Date Harvest 1 Harvest 2 Total N P K Ca Mg S Fe dry T ac ‐ 1 lb ac ‐ 1 16 Jun 2010 2.81 111 14 216 28 14 11 3 16 Jul 2010 8.44 151 17 221 44 18 12 3 4 Jan 2011 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Mean % nutrient 16 Jun 2010 0.97 0.12 1.89 0.24 0.12 0.09 0.02 16 Jul 2010 0.88 0.10 1.32 0.26 0.11 0.07 0.02 Nutrient removal winter harvest (4 Jan 11) Harvest 1 Harvest 2 Total N P K Ca Mg S Fe dry T ac ‐ 1 lb ac ‐ 1 June 1.14 6.7 0.5 4.8 7.2 1.8 0.9 0.1 July 0.75 6.8 0.4 2.9 5.8 1.3 0.7 0.1 4 Jan 2011 3.98 9.6 1.3 23.3 10.9 2.9 1.5 0.2 Mean % nutrient June 0.29 0.02 0.21 0.31 0.08 0.04 0.00 July 0.46 0.03 0.20 0.38 0.09 0.05 0.01 4 Jan 2011 0.12 0.02 0.29 0.14 0.04 0.02 0.00 Total nutrient removal Harvest 1 Harvest 2 Total N P K Ca Mg S Fe dry T ac ‐ 1 lb ac ‐ 1 June 2.81 1.14 3.95 118 14 221 35 16 12 3 July 8.44 0.75 9.19 158 18 224 50 19 13 3 January ‐ 3.98 3.98 10 1 23 11 3 1 0

Preliminary data: Miscanthus multi-cut trial at MHCRS. 3 seasons in field. Nutrient removal summer harvest Date Harvest 1 Harvest 2 Total N P K Ca Mg S Fe dry T ac ‐ 1 lb ac ‐ 1 19 May 2011 2.10 60 10 121 11 8 6 1 16 Jun 2011 7.53 105 17 227 29 20 13 2 13 Jul 2011 12.84 107 19 267 37 26 14 1 Mean % nutrient 19 May 2011 1.44 0.23 2.90 0.27 0.19 0.15 0.02 16 Jun 2011 0.70 0.12 1.53 0.19 0.13 0.08 0.02 13 Jul 2011 0.42 0.07 1.04 0.14 0.10 0.06 0.00 Nitrogen removal winter harvest (2 Dec 11) Harvest 1 Harvest 2 Total %N N dry T ac ‐ 1 lb ac ‐ 1 May ‐ 2.95 0.33 18.7 June ‐ 2.13 0.45 19.3 July ‐ 1.10 0.66 14.0 2 ‐ Dec ‐ 11 ‐ 15.93 0.16 51.5 Total nutrient removal Harvest 1 Harvest 2 Total N P K Ca Mg S Fe dry T ac ‐ 1 lb ac ‐ 1 May 2.10 2.95 5.06 79 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ June 7.53 2.13 9.66 139 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ July 12.84 1.10 13.94 121 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ December ‐ 15.93 15.93 52

Nutrient removal Location Harvest date Dry yield N P K T ac ‐ 1 lb ac ‐ 1 M. x giganteus Wallace 7 Jan 2009 0.72 10 1 5 6 Jan 2010 5.23 92 3 26 20 Dec 2010 9.30 34 4 56 3 Jan 2012 9.88 35 ‐ ‐ Dry biomass yield Mills River 6 Feb 2009 2.24 24 1 10 11 Jan 2010 8.12 116 2 53 and nutrient 4 Jan 2011 9.02 32 4 91 19 Dec 2011 8.71 47 ‐ ‐ removal for winter- Switchgrass (Alamo) harvested crops, Wallace 7 Jan 2009 2.92 40 4 34 6 Jan 2010 4.00 91 5 50 20 Dec 2010 7.10 66 6 72 mean across N 3 Jan 2012 11.18 76 ‐ ‐ rates. Planted Mills River 6 Feb 2009 0.65 18 1 3 11 Jan 2010 6.80 135 6 82 2008. 4 Jan 2011 9.86 74 8 109 19 Dec 2011 9.21 85 ‐ ‐ Arundo donax Wallace 7 Jan 2009 0.26 10 1 3 6 Jan 2010 9.26 241 13 177 20 Dec 2010 13.17 157 14 227 3 Jan 2012 11.60 98 ‐ ‐ Mills River 6 Feb 2009 1.31 29 4 27 11 Jan 2010 10.89 231 12 176 4 Jan 2011 9.53 66 12 207 19 Dec 2011 11.36 47 ‐ ‐

Supplemental data Percent N in dry biomass during growing season: 4 th year in field. Mills River Wallace 15 ‐ Jun ‐ 11 13 ‐ Jul ‐ 11 16 ‐ Aug ‐ 11 20 ‐ Sep ‐ 11 13 ‐ Oct ‐ 11 18 ‐ Jul ‐ 11 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ %N ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ Switchgrass (Alamo) 1.03 0.96 0.79 0.61 0.58 0.87 M. x giganteus 0.99 0.98 0.68 0.58 0.47 0.70 Arundo donax 1.42 1.15 0.48 0.52 0.42 0.83 Mean dry yield and N removal for winter-harvested arundo donax across multipel N and P rates in years 1 and 2. Harvest Date Dry T/ac lb N/ac Removed MHCRS Adx PN 1/5/2011 3.05 60 12/20/2011 7.69 75 Oxford Adx PN 12/21/2010 1.16 28 1/5/2012 5.85 53

Thank you. Questions? Funding for projects presented include: NC Agricultural Foundation, Biofuels Center of NC, BP Biofuels, International Plant Nutrition Institute

Other nutrient-related issues to consider Multi-cut system may cause decline in stand over time  Summer harvest may reduce winter survival and decrease  subsequent plant stand due to reduced nutrient cycling But, will the application of effluent be sufficient to sustain  stand? All of these crops likely have a capacity for luxury  consumption of N – largely untested thus far How will the system affect other important nutrients (e.g.  K, Ca, Mg)

Giant miscanthus August – Year 2 Arundo donax

Early June –Year 3 Switchgrass

Early June –Year 3 Giant Miscanthus

Early June –Year 3 Arundo