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Cool-Season Grass Biomass in the Southern Mixed-Grass Prairie Region of the USA

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Abstract

Emphasis is trending toward future bioenergy production being derived from cellulosic materials rather than starch from seed crops. The majority of research on perennial biomass production for conversion to ethanol or other biofuel has used warm-season grasses as the feedstock material. Some cool-season grasses also have great potential for biomass production, even in the southern prairie region. A study was conducted for 4 years to evaluate the dry matter production potential of several cool-season grass cultivars in west-central Kansas. Ten cultivars were grown at two locations, one an upland soil and the other a lowland soil, and harvested in late June from 2007 to 2010 when fully headed with mature seed. Three cultivars, one tall [Thinopyrum ponticum (Podp.) Barkw. & D.R. Dewey], intermediate [T. intermedium (Host) Barkw. & D.R. Dewey], and western wheatgrass [Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) Love], had the greatest biomass production with 4,525–4,840 kg ha−1 dry matter averaged over four years at an upland location. At a lowland location, three cultivars, either intermediate or tall wheatgrasses, averaged 5,340–5,490 kg ha−1 dry matter over the 4 years. During the particularly moist spring of 2007, three cultivars at the upland location and eight cultivars at the lowland location produced over 9,000 kg ha−1 dry matter. All cultivars increased in plant stand frequency from 2006 to 2011, except for the western wheatgrass and Russian wildrye [Psathyrostachys juncea (Fisch.) Nevski] cultivars that already had a high frequency before the first biomass harvest. These grasses may add versatility to production systems by not only serving as complementary forage for grazing or hay, but also by providing an alternative feedstock for cellulosic ethanol and combustion energy production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center—Hays, Hays, KS, 67601, USA

    K. R. Harmoney

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  1. K. R. Harmoney
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Correspondence to K. R. Harmoney.

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Contribution no. 14-073-J from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station.

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Harmoney, K.R. Cool-Season Grass Biomass in the Southern Mixed-Grass Prairie Region of the USA. Bioenerg. Res. 8, 203–210 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-014-9514-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-014-9514-9

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