Production System on Marginal Land for High Cellulosic Biomass Using Perennial Bioenergy Crops.

The aim of this research was to study the production system of perennial bioenergy crops napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum (L.) Schum.) and energycane (Saccharum spp) on marginal land to provide sustainable alternative to fossil fuels without infringing upon the food crops for feedstock source or land. Three nitrogen fertilization rates (0, 100 and 200 Kg/h) and one cover crop Clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) were compared for nitrogen input. Field experiments were conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Fort Valley from 2010-2015. Napiergrass and energycane were planted with four replications and eight treatments including Energy Cane 0, Energy Cane and Clover, Energy Cane and Clover +100 Kg/h N, Energy Cane and Clover + 200 Kg/h N, Elephant Grass 0, Elephant Grass and Clover, Elephant Grass and Clover +100 Kg/h N, Elephant Grass and Clover + 200 Kg/h N. The results showed napiergrass tend to produce higher biomass (30.4 t/ha) in comparison to energycane (20.1 t/ha). Cover crop in general did not show any significant bearing on yield over control for napiergrass whereas it showed 14.5% higher than control in energycane. The yield of the perennial energy crops were lower in establishment year but attained higher yields in last three years and showed no significant difference for year 2013-2015. Plant height and stalk number were found to affect the biomass yield significantly (R²= 0.55). No significant effect of 100 and 200 Kg N/ha on yield was visible in case of napiergrass but energycane showed 19.8% higher biomass yield when applied with 200 Kg N/ha over control. We concluded that napiergrass is more favorable over energycane for producing higher cellulosic biomass with limited inputs in marginal land. It is expected that such crops with the ability to utilize soils from marginal, unutilized farm resources can be put to productive use adding to farm income.