282-20 Integrative Perennial Cropping Systems to Produce Food, Bioenergy, and Ecosystem Services.
See more from this Division: C03 Crop Ecology, Management & QualitySee more from this Session: Crop Ecology, Management and Quality: I
The prairie polyculture species mixture was designed to provision ample floral resources to insect predators while providing biomass bioenergy. Throughout the growing season, the prairie produced a total of 13 native flowers per m2 and 0.3-0.5 kg dry biomass per m2 (1.3-2.2 tons/acre). There was a greater abundance of insect predators (e.g. lady beetles, lacewings) in soybeans grown adjacent to willow and prairie; the increase in insect predators was associated with greater suppression of soybean aphid population growth in 2012 but not 2013. We will discuss pending results of plant tissue quality analysis for bioenergy applications. This research will provide insight on strategies to incorporate perennial crops in ways that support and enhance conventional production systems, provide new sources of perennial bioenergy and increase biological control of insect pests.
See more from this Session: Crop Ecology, Management and Quality: I