Identification and Characterization of Certain Species of Grasses and Forage Soybean As Potential Sources of Biofuel in the US Delmarva Peninsula.

Certain members of the grass family may provide an excellent source of cellulosic ethanol usable as biofuel and; therefore, may contribute to the reduction of our dependence on imported fossil fuel.  Currently, no plant cultivars, except grain corn and soybean, with high potential as biofuel sources have been evaluated or released for bioenergy production in the Delmarva region. Research on bioenergy is needed to identify plant cultivars with higher biomass yield and improved conversion efficiency to biofuel, and to study their adaptation to the Delmarva ecosystems. We investigated the potential of certain genotypes of switchgrass, miscanthus, Sudangrass, and forage soybean for biofuel production potential determined by plant productivity and desirable traits, such as high biomass yield combined with high fiber concentration, low lignin and ash that make the feedstock easier and less expensive to break down during the process of converting the cell walls into biofuel.  Results indicated that plant biomass and crop production varied significantly among plant species,