Establishment and yield of perennial grass monocultures and binary mixtures for bioenergy in North Dakota

To develop appropriate bioenergy production systems to match site-specific situations, establishment and yield were evaluated for switchgrass, intermediate wheatgrass, tall wheatgrass, and three binary mixtures at four sites in North Dakota from 2006 to 2011. Canopy cover at harvest for intermediate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agronomy journal 2014-09, Vol.106 (5), p.1605-1613
Main Authors: Wang, G J, Nyren, P, Xue, Q W, Aberle, E, Ericksmoen, E, Tjelde, T, Liebig, M, Nichols, K, Nyren, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Andropogon gerardii
bioenergy
biomass
canopy
crop yield
energy crops
grasses
Monoculture
North Dakota
Panicum virgatum
production technology
sowing
Thinopyrum elongatum
Thinopyrum intermedium subsp. intermedium
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Summary:To develop appropriate bioenergy production systems to match site-specific situations, establishment and yield were evaluated for switchgrass, intermediate wheatgrass, tall wheatgrass, and three binary mixtures at four sites in North Dakota from 2006 to 2011. Canopy cover at harvest for intermediate wheatgrass, tall wheatgrass, a binary mixture of tall wheatgrass and intermediate wheatgrass, and a binary mixture of tall wheatgrass with ‘Sunburst’ switchgrass was greater than 85% at all four sites one year after seeding. Canopy cover at harvest for ‘Sunburst’ switchgrass and its binary mixture with big bluestem was 100% at Carrington, the most eastern site, but less than 35% at Williston, the most western site. Meanwhile, canopy cover at harvest for 'Sunburst' switchgrass and its binary mixture with big bluestem was greater than 70% two and three years after seeding at Minot and Streeter, the north central and south central sites, respectively. ‘Sunburst’ switchgrass produced the most biomass at Carrington (10.6 Mg/ha), while intermediate wheatgrass was the most productive biofeedstock at Williston (3.0 Mg/ha). The binary mixture of tall wheatgrass with ‘Sunburst’ switchgrass had the highest yield at Minot (8.5 Mg/ha) and Streeter (6.7 Mg/ha). Yields of binary mixtures were at least comparable to and sometimes higher than those of their compositional component monocultures. Binary mixtures with carefully selected species could have potential for bioenergy production systems in North Dakota.
ISSN:0002-1962
1435-0645
DOI:10.2134/agronj14.0068