11/16/2012
Outline
Michael J.W. Maw
University of Missouri
Felix Fritschi, Advisor
Monday Oct. 22, 2012
Introduction
• Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) has
potential as a biofuel feedstock
• Basic types: grain, sweet, forage
• Several Desirable Qualities
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Drought-hardy
Nutrient Scavenger
High energy conversion
Annual crop
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Intro
Objectives & Hypothesis
Experiment Design
Materials and Methods
Results
Conclusions
Objectives
1. Determine Yield Response of 5 N fertilizer rates (0-224
kg/ha) on Dry Matter and Ethanol from 2 Sweet Sorghum
(SS) and 2 High Biomass Sorghum (HBS) cultivars
2. Determine N fertilizer impact on N-removal in aboveground biomass of both SS and HBS
3. Propose optimal N fertilization rates for Dry Matter and
Ethanol yield
• New crosses for energy
• Missing basic crop management info
Hypothesis
N-fertilizer rates will directly affect Dry Matter and Energy
Yields and increase N-removal in biomass.
Experiment Design
Location: Central Missouri
Soil: Mexico Silt Loam
No-till
Slope: 0-2%
Materials & Methods
Collected Final Samples each October
• Near Physiological Maturity
• Prior to first freeze
Measurements
Sweet Sorghum
Randomized Complete Block Design w/ Split Plot Factorial
•3 Years (2009-2011)
•4 replications
•5 treatments of N urea rates (0, 56, 112, 168, 224 kg/ha)
•4 Sorghum varieties
2 SS : Dale, Top 76-6
(2009-2011)
2 HBS : ES 5200, ES 5201 (2010-2011)
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High Biomass Sorghum
Dry Matter (DM) Yield - DM Yield
Juice Yield
- Ethanol Yield (bagasse)
Brix
Ethanol Yield (Juice & bagasse)
Total Nitrogen Removal in Bagasse (Leaf + Stem)
2010-2011
1
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Environment
Sweet Sorghum Biomass Yield
2011
-hail damage
-late replanting
-drought
Precipitation Totals
Dry Matter (MG ha-1)
Year
Precipitation
(cm)
Avg. Daily Temp.
(May-October)
2009
94.3
66.0
2010
117.3
69.9
2011
70.3
69.2
35
2010
2011
20
15
10
5
0
56 112 168 224
0
56 112 168 224
0
56 112 168 224
N Fertilizer Rate (kg ha-1)
Sweet Sorghum: Ethanol
2011
SS
25
HBS
20
15
10
5
0
0
56
112
168
224
0
56
112
168
224
N Rate (kg ha-1)
N Rate (kg ha-1)
High Biomass Sorghum: Ethanol
Ethanol Yield (L ha-1)
2010
2009
25
0
Sweet Sorghum
vs.
High Biomass Sorghum
30
Dry Matter Yield (MG ha-1)
2009 and 2010
wet spring
30
2010
8000
Objectives
5200
2011
5201
7000
1. Determine Yield Response of 5 N (0-224 kg/ha) on Dry
Matter and Ethanol from 2 Sweet Sorghum (SS) and 2 High
Biomass Sorghum (HBS) cultivars
2. Determine N fertilizer impact on N-removal in
above-ground biomass of both SS and HBS
6000
5000
4000
3. Propose optimal N fertilization rates for Dry Matter and
Ethanol yield
3000
2000
1000
Hypothesis
0
0
56
112
168
224
0
56
N Rate (kg ha-1)
112
168
224
N-fertilizer rates will directly affect Dry Matter and Energy
Yields and increase N-removal in biomass.
2
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N-Removal 2010-2011
Materials & Methods
SS
• Near Physiological Maturity
• Prior to first freeze
Measurements
Sweet Sorghum
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–
–
–
High Biomass Sorghum
Dry Matter (DM) Yield
- DM Yield
Juice Yield
- Ethanol Yield (bagasse)
Brix
Ethanol Yield (Juice & bagasse)
N-Removal (kg ha-1)
Collected Final Samples each October
Topper
100
60
10
40
5
20
0
0
0
56
224
% Total N-Removal
N Fertilizer Rate (kg ha-1)
Dry Matter Yield (MG ha-1)
168
25
N-Removal (kg ha-1)
Ethanol Yield (L ha-1)
ha-1)
150
Dry Matter Yield (MG
100
168
224
15
10
5
0
0
50
100
150
N-Removed (kg ha-1)
N Removal vs. Total Biomass
y = 45.097x + 2624.5
R² = 0.704
50
112
ha-1)
Correlations
N-removal vs. SS Ethanol
0
56
y = 0.1007x + 7.5839
R² = 0.6482
20
Correlations
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
SS N-Removal vs. Biomass
HBS
SS
112
168 224
Correlations
SS vs. HBS N-Removal 2010-2011
56
112
N Fertilizer Rate (kg
N-Removal 2010-2011
0
5200
5201
20
15
80
Total Nitrogen Removal in Bagasse (Leaf + Stem)
2010-2011
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
HBS
Dale
120
25
y = 0.1003x + 5.8219
R² = 0.7048
20
15
10
5
0
0
50
100
150
N-Removed (kg ha-1)
3
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Conclusions
• N fertilizer rate impacts DM and ethanol
yields in both Sweet Sorghum and High
Biomass Sorghum, especially at low rates
• SS may provide near double bagasse-derived
ethanol yields over HBS
• N-removal in SS higher than HBS, more
responsive to N fertilizer
Acknowledgements and Thank you
Fritschi Crop Physiology Lab
Future Investigation
• Analyze juice N content
• Determine optimal N fert. Application
• Develop Crop Production Guidelines
James Houx, III: Postdoctoral Fellow
Questions?
4