The last century was the scene of an extraordinary social and economic development of mankind. This development had the fossil energy as one of its pillars. The discovery of petrol led the society to shape a development model highly dependent on this source of energy, which has finite resources and also promotes a big increase on the greenhouse gases, with unforeseeable consequences for the human beings as well as the entire life. It is imperative that we change the pillars of energy from fossil to renewables that will be more sustainable and less aggressive to the environment. One of the sources of this new energy platform, probably the best, is biomass. Fibrous plants bring several advantages and fit well within the requirements deemed important to be elected as producers of biomass. Among these characteristics we have the high processing capacity of solar energy into biomass, fast growth, long-term canopy, possibility of large-scale production. Despite of that this plants are adapted to suboptimal environments that allows its production not compete with food production because it requires less energy input, bringing marginal lands into production with its all social-benefit consequences. Among the fibrous plants, SUGAR CANE or, better, ENERGY CANE has one of the biggest potential for biomass productions. Results from several breeding programs has showing the high biomass potential of energy cane over other biomass crops like sorghum, elephant grass and eucalyptus.

Energy cane (Saccharum spp.) is an alternative for biomass production to meet demands for high yield and fiber content feedstock for bioenergy production. However, there is limited research data and information available for this crop that was recently introduced in Brazil. The focus of this study was to evaluate the biomass production and mineral composition of energy cane genotypes to understand their productivity and define nutrient management practices according to nutrient removal. The experiment was conducted in northeastern Brazil during plant cane and first ratoon crop cycles and evaluated six energy cane and one sugarcane (cultivar most grown in the region) genotype. Depending on genotype and crop cycle, energy cane dry biomass production ranged from 43 to 63 Mg ha−1 and was greater than that of sugarcane, ranging from 25 to 51 Mg ha−1. Energy cane allocated a greater amount of dry biomass in dry leaves and tops than sugarcane. Overall, 1 Mg of fresh energy cane required 1.5 kg of N, 0.32 kg of P, 5.1 kg of K, 0.6 kg of Mg, 0.5 kg of S, 5.7 g of B, 1.4 g of Cu, 6.3 g of Mn, and 4.7 g of Zn. Macronutrient removal by some energy cane genotypes was higher than that by sugarcane due to greater biomass production. Energy cane has the potential for greater dry biomass production than sugarcane, but it also removes a larger amount of nutrients. The recommendation of an amount of nutrients needed for energy cane production is a key issue for the establishment of this crop as a raw material for bioenergy production in Brazil.

The development and identification of sugarcane clones with higher amount of lignocellulosic biomass are essential to increas e the potential for generation of electrical energy or biofuel. Considering the potential for increased portfolio of products to be explored from the cane energy, the objective of this study was to compare the average results of biometrics, productivity and technological quality of 23 hybrids of cane energy with the commercial variety RB92579 (as a standard). Finally, we will identify energy cane clones of types 1 and/or 2 to become commercial cultivars. The experimental design was randomized blocks with three replications of 24 plots, where each plot consisted of 6 furrows of 10 linear meters with double spacing cycled from 0.9 x 1.5 meters. The evaluated variables were the number of stems per linear meter, stem diameter, dry and fresh matter and industrial quality. Th e results were submitted to statistical analysis using the Scott-Knott test for comparison of means. The diameter of stem in energy cane was lower (1.172 to 1.772 cm) than the average of sugarcane (2.302 cm). On the other hand, a greater number of stems per linear meter were found for 15 clones evaluated (average 24.19) compared to traditional sugarcane (12.5). All clones had low juice sugars concentration but nine clones reached fiber contents higher than 23.6%, representing a 42% increase compared to the fiber content of cultivar RB92579. The hybrids 1, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18 and 23 showed a better development potential with high tillering and high fiber content.

O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar o potencial energético e o teor de cinzas da canaenergia em Alagoas, Nordeste do Brasil. O experimento foi conduzido com sete genótipos de cana-energia do tipo Vertix (VX) e uma cultivar de cana-de-açúcar (RB92579). O delineamento foi em blocos casualizados com três repetições. O poder calorífico superior, a combustibilidade e o teor de cinzas foram determinados bimestralmente. A eficiência de conversão de energia foi calculada pela relação entre o conteúdo de energia da biomassa e a irradiação solar. O poder calorífico superior para cana-energia na colheita foi em média 18.876,00 (± 110,05) J g-1, e mostrou diferença estatística significativa (p < 0,05) entre os genótipos apenas aos 201 e aos 362 dias após o transplantio (DAT). A variedade RB92579 teve rendimento energético de 530 GJ ha-1 e do genótipo mais produtivo de cana-energia (VX12-1744) foi 1.069 GJ ha-1 (329 DAT), a média dos genótipos foi igual a 762 (± 133,92) GJ ha-1. A RB92579 apresentou o menor teor de cinzas na colheita (2,4%) e o maior teor de combustibilidade (97,6%). Os genótipos apresentaram eficiência na conversão de energia, considerando a irradiação fotossintética interceptada, em média de 4,2%. A cana-energia apresentou resultados de poder calorifico maiores que a cana-de-açúcar com teores de cinzas superiores e menor combustibilidade. Esses resultados demostram que a cana-energia é alternativa promissora para geração de energia elétrica.