A Quick Look at Some Energy Crops John Jemison and Peter Sexton
Ideal Crop Characteristics Low inputs required Adapted to large areas Easily managed and harvested Easily processed Ability to grow on marginal land
Ideal Crop Characteristics Produces marketable by-products Minimal need for specialized equipment Provides perennial ground cover minimizes erosion, increase soil C, and makes use of early spring / late fall growing conditions Adaptable to temperate growing season
Some Possible Energy Crops Sugar/Starch for ethanol - corn, small grains, sugarbeet, sweet sorghum, apples, potatoes Direct Combustion solid fuel - grass, copice forestry, grains Oil Crops - sunflower, canola, soybean, hazelnuts, algae (?)
Soybeans Typical Yield: 1650 lbs per acre Estimated Energy Yield: ca. 30 gallons per acre Cost of Production: $ 215 per acre Processing Equipment: Crusher Estimated Processing Costs: $75 per ton By-products: Soybean meal
Soybeans Estimated cost per million BTU: $ 7.24 Apparent Strengths: Excellent meal (primary purpose of this crop). Inputs commercially available. Apparent Limitations: Requires tillage/traffic over field. Some vulnerability to soil erosion. Ratio of 3:1 for energy output per unit input.
Canola Typical Yield: 1500 lbs per acre Estimated Energy Yield: ca. 65 gallons per acre Cost of Production: $ 260 per acre Processing Equipment: Crusher Estimated Processing Costs: $75 per ton By-products: Canola meal
Canola Estimated cost per million BTU: $20.60 Apparent Strengths: Market for meal is well developed Inputs are commercially available Oil has value in the culinary market Apparent Limitations: Disease pressure (white mold) Requires annual tillage, N fertilizer inputs, and possibly fungicide Some vulnerability to soil erosion
Sunflower Typical Yield (?): 1500 pounds DM per acre Estimated Energy Yield: ca. 75 gal per acre Cost of Production: $ 260 per acre Processing Equipment: Crusher Estimated Processing Costs: $75 per ton By-products: Sunflower meal Similar in nutrient value to cottonseed meal
Sunflower Estimated cost per million BTU: $19.31 Apparent Strengths: Inputs are commercially available Oil has value in the culinary market Apparent Limitations: Disease pressure (white mold) Requires annual tillage, N fertilizer inputs, Need heat difficulty in Maine to get dry Potential for major bird issues
Hazelnut Yield Potential: 2300 lbs per acre Estimated Energy Yield: ca. 150 gallons per acre Cost of Production: $600 per acre Processing Equipment: Crusher Estimated Processing Costs: $75 per ton By-products: Hazelnut meal.
Hazelnut Estimated cost per million BTU: $24.50 Apparent Strengths: Perennial cover. Protection from soil erosion and potential to sequester C in tree and soil. Annual establishment costs are eliminated. Apparent Limitations: Lag period between stand establishment and seed production. Availability of equipment, improved varieties, and other inputs may present difficulties.
soybean canola hazelnut sunflower yield 1650 1500 2300 1500 gal/ac 30 66 150 74 million BTU/ac 3.92 8.55 19.52 9.67 Cost/ac 215 260 600 260 meal (lb/ac) 1420 1000 1150 925 meal value 350 280 280 280 meal value per acre 249 140 161 130 cost/ million BTU 7.24 20.61 26.91 19.31 Note: the cost of meal relative to fuel is a big driver in this analysis. If meal is inexpensive, the cost per unit energy will increase.
Foliar Burn Foliar burn with herbicide application - pictures
Cutworms: Scout early, control with synthetic pyrethroids. Economic threshold of 3 worms per square yard. CUTWORM PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
White Mold White Mold also think about Ronilan
Liquid N
Clubroot Clubroot Harvest - Direct Cut versus Swathing
Observations on harvesting:
Canola Time until mold appears versus initial moisture and temperature Maximum # of Days Until Mold Appears 100 80 60 40 20 0 Based on data from Burrell et al., 1980. 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Initial Moisture (%) 77 F 50 F
Canola Conclusions Yield potential was limited by poor weather. Use quality surfactant with glyphosate. White mold control is important. Wet weather and areas with limited air movement act promote this disease. Use a labelled fungicide for control. Direct cutting can be risky especially where white mold or uneven stands are an issue. Canola over 14 % moisture will start to mold within a few days plan shipment accordingly.
A soybean field with poor nodulation.
Soybean Inoculant issue
Inoculant issue cont d Average of 14 nodules per plant. Average of less than 1 nodule per plant.
Check for nodulation using new inoculant, mid-july 2008.
No additional inoculant Comparison of plants in early September. Inoculated in mid-july.
Downy mildew on soybean leaves.
White Mold