Agronomic practices for bioethanol production from spring triticale in Alberta

Abstract

McKenzie, R. H., Bremer, E., Middleton, A. B., Beres, B., Yoder, C., Hietamaa, C., Pfiffner, P., Kereliuk, G., Pauly, D. and Henriquez, B. 2014. Agronomic practices for bioethanol production from spring triticale in Alberta. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 15–22. Triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) is an attractive crop for biofuel production due to its high grain yield potential, weed competitiveness, and drought tolerance. Field plot studies were conducted at seven locations across Alberta from 2008 to 2010 to determine optimum agronomic practices (seeding date, seeding rate and N fertilizer rate) for grain and starch production of spring triticale. The yield penalty from delayed seeding was variable, with an average yield decline of only 0.1% per day. Significant yield benefits from increasing seeding rates from 100 to 500 viable seeds m−2 were obtained at site-years with more than 200 mm of growing season precipitation, but were inconsistent or negligible at site-years with less than 200 mm of growing season precipitation. Optimum N fertilizer rates for grain production increased with growing season precipitation, but were not correlated with pre-seeding soil extractable NO3-N levels. Starch concentrations were either unaffected or only slightly affected by seeding date, seeding rate or N fertilizer rate. Thus, agronomic practices that were optimum for triticale grain production were also optimum for starch production. Under good growing conditions, grain production of spring triticale was optimum when seeded at 350 to 450 seeds m−2 and N fertilizer rates of 90 to 150 kg N ha−1.

Are Higher Input Levels to Triticale Growing Technologies Effective in Biofuel Production System?

“…Therefore, despite a significantly lower content of starch in grain, the high-input production system supplied bioethanol yield per unit of the cropped fields higher by 25.0% than the low-input production system. According to McKenzie, et al [52] the influence of nitrogen dose on starch content and yield of spring triticale was very significant. The opposite research results were obtained in the study Jansone, et al [49] where no significant effect of nitrogen on starch content and bioethanol yield was noted.…”

The Energy Efficiency of the Production and Conversion of Spring Triticale Grain into Bioethanol

“…Scientists propose that its production should be based on a sustainable model [10]. Therefore, the main purpose of using the grains to produce bioethanol is generating the highest possible amount of renewable energy per production unit [11,12].…”

“…Nitrogen fertilization is the agronomic factor that most distinctly modifies the quality traits of grain. An appropriate dose and application schedule can facilitate the production of a good quality plant product and are very important for effective use of nitrogen [11,17,22]. Rosenberger [15] recounts that in adapting the dose of nitrogen for the purposes of producing crops intended as feedstock for the production of bioethanol, the accumulated starch content can be controlled instead of synthesizing protein.…”

Managing Yield and Yield Attributes of Triticale in a Deficit Irrigation System With Methanol Foliar Application

“…Heidari et al (2016 reported that triticale seems to be an alternative to other small grain cereals, particularly wheat and barley for cultivation under unfavourable conditions or in low-input agricultural systems. It has been reported that under drought stress conditions and problematic soil regions, triticale showed distinct yield superiority and had adaptive advantages over wheat (Lelley 2006;McKenzie et al, 2014;Roques et al, 2016). Agronomic traits such as grain yield and its components are the major selection criteria for evaluating drought tolerance under field conditions (Shahrajabian et al, 2020).…”