| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
a Dep. of Plant Science, McGill Univ., 21-111 Lakeshore Rd., Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
b Agric. & Agri-Food Canada, 107 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X2. Canada
dsmith{at}agradm.lan.mcgill.ca
Received for publication November 1, 1997. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is one of several warm-season grasses that have been identified as potential biomass crops in North America. A two-year field study was conducted, on a free-draining sandy clay loam (St. Bernard, Typic Hapludalf), to characterize the growth and evaluate changes in biomass accumulation and composition of switchgrass at Montreal, QC. Three cultivars, Cave-in-Rock, Pathfinder, and Sunburst, were grown in solid stands in a randomized complete block design. Canopy height, dry matter (DM) accumulation and chemical composition were monitored biweekly throughout the growing season. Average maximum canopy heights were 192.5 cm for Cave-in-Rock, 169.9 for Pathfinder, and 177.8 for Sunburst. The respective end-of-season DM yields were 12.2, 11.5, and 10.6 Mg ha-1. Biomass production among cultivars appeared to be related to time of maturation. Nitrogen concentration of DM decreased curvilinearly from 25 g kg-1 at the beginning of the season to 5 g kg-1 DM at season's end. Both acid-detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral-detergent fiber (NDF) concentrations increased to a maximum early in the season, after which no changes were detected. The average maximum values of ADF and NDF were, respectively, 647.6 and 849.0 g kg-1 DM for Cave-in-Rock, 669.1 and 865.2 for Pathfinder, and 661.8 and 860.9 for Sunburst. Changes in canopy height, DM accumulation, and chemical composition could all be described by predictive regression equations. These results indicate that switchgrass has potential as a biomass crop in a short-season environment.
Abbreviations: ADF, acid-detergent fiber • DM, dry matter • NDF, neutral-detergent fiber
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  M. A. Sanderson Upland Switchgrass Yield, Nutritive Value, and Soil Carbon Changes Under Grazing and Clipping Agron. J., May 7, 2008; 100(3): 510 - 516. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. W. Simpson, A. N. Sharpley, R. W. Howarth, H. W. Paerl, and K. R. Mankin The New Gold Rush: Fueling Ethanol Production while Protecting Water Quality J. Environ. Qual., March 1, 2008; 37(2): 318 - 324. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. D. Casler, K. P. Vogel, C. M. Taliaferro, N. J. Ehlke, J. D. Berdahl, E. C. Brummer, R. L. Kallenbach, C. P. West, and R. B. Mitchell Latitudinal and Longitudinal Adaptation of Switchgrass Populations Crop Sci., November 7, 2007; 47(6): 2249 - 2260. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. R. Adler, M. A. Sanderson, A. A. Boateng, P. J. Weimer, and H.-J. G. Jung Biomass Yield and Biofuel Quality of Switchgrass Harvested in Fall or Spring Agron. J., October 3, 2006; 98(6): 1518 - 1525. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. R. Mulkey, V. N. Owens, and D. K. Lee Management of Switchgrass-Dominated Conservation Reserve Program Lands for Biomass Production in South Dakota Crop Sci., February 1, 2006; 46(2): 712 - 720. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Boe and M. D. Casler Hierarchical Analysis of Switchgrass Morphology Crop Sci., October 27, 2005; 45(6): 2465 - 2472. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. K. Lee and A. Boe Biomass Production of Switchgrass in Central South Dakota Crop Sci., October 27, 2005; 45(6): 2583 - 2590. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| The SCI Journals | Crop Science | Vadose Zone Journal | |||
| Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education |
Soil Science Society of America Journal | ||||
| Journal of Plant Registrations | Journal of Environmental Quality |
The Plant Genome | |||
