Biomass production and stability of five energycane cultivars at two latitudes in Georgia

Abstract

Energycane (Saccharum hybrid) could be a viable bioenergy crop for the Southeast United States. Five energycane cultivars were planted in 2008 at a northern (Watkinsville, GA) and a southern (Tifton, GA) site, and were grown for 7 yr to compare biomass yields. Plots were arranged in a four replicate randomized complete block design at each site. Energycane was grown under rainfed conditions with 90–112 kg ha–1 N applied annually. Plant height was recorded at least monthly, and stalks were sampled to determine juice volume and Brix (estimate of sugar concentration) at harvest. Whole plots were mechanically harvested each year after killing freeze and weighed to determine biomass yields. Biomass yield and mature plant height were strongly correlated at both Tifton (r = .746) and Watkinsville (r = .727). Biomass yields peaked in Year 4 at Tifton (39.8 Mg ha–1) and Year 5 at Watkinsville (30.5 Mg ha–1), but local weather conditions had a greater influence on yields than stand age. Day‐long freezes during the winter and late spring freezes after shoot emergence resulted in reduced growth rate and yields in subsequent growing seasons. These cold weather events were more common at Watkinsville than Tifton, resulting in yields being more variable at the northern location. The greatest yielding cultivars were Ho 06‐9001 (27.0 Mg ha–1) and Ho 06‐9002 (25.1 Mg ha–1). Stability analysis revealed that these two cultivars responded positively to favorable environments in terms of biomass yield and plant height.

Potential Impacts of Water Stress on Rice Biomass Composition and Feedstock Availability for Bioenergy Production

“…Furthermore, SH had a significant positive correlation with BY. Knoll et al [36] also observed that mature SH was highly correlated with biomass yield. Reduction in SH and SN under WS resulted in a reduction in plant biomass.…”

Intron-mediated enhancement of DIACYLGLYCEROL ACYLTRANSFERASE1 expression in energycane promotes a step change for lipid accumulation in vegetative tissues

“…Both energycane and sugarcane are highly polyploid, interspecific hybrids between Saccharum officinarum and Saccharum spontaneum , but energycane has a higher proportion of Saccharum spontaneum in its genome. This contributes to greater biomass yields, elevated resilience under marginal conditions, lower sugar, and higher fiber content in the stems of energycane relative to sugarcane [ 4 – 7 ]. Energycane’s superior resilience and biomass accumulation are supported by a more vigorous root system and higher light interception efficiency than sugarcane.…”

Triacylglycerol, total fatty acid, and biomass accumulation of metabolically engineered energycane grown under field conditions confirms its potential as feedstock for drop‐in fuel production

“…Biofuels produced by perennial feedstocks such as energycane will enhance energy independence, while contributing to carbon neutrality (Durrett et al., 2008; Field et al., 2020). Energycane, an interspecific hybrid in the genus Saccharum , produces exceptional biomass yields (Knoll et al., 2021). Developed alongside modern sugarcane cultivars in sugarcane breeding programs, energycane differs significantly from its close relative in several key traits (Alexander, 1985; Carvalho‐Netto et al., 2014; de Abreu et al., 2020).…”

“…These attributes allow its growth on marginal lands and in more northern regions than sugarcane. Therefore, energycane has a larger potential footprint in the Southern United States than sugarcane, and decreased competition for land used in food production (de Abreu et al., 2020; Knoll et al., 2021; Matsuoka et al., 2014).…”