TITLE:
Variation of Morpho-Agronomic and Biomass Quality Traits in Elephant Grass for Energy Purposes According to Nitrogen Levels
AUTHORS:
Érik da Silva Oliveira, Rogério Figueiredo Daher, Niraldo José Ponciano, Geraldo de Amaral Gravina, José Augusto de Almeida Sant’ana, Romildo Domingos Gottardo, Bruna Rafaela da Silva Menezes, Paulo Marcelo de Souza, Cláudio Luiz Melo de Souza, Verônica Brito da Silva, Avelino dos Santos Rocha, Antonio Alonso Cecon Novo
KEYWORDS:
Nitrogen Fertilization, Alternative Energy, Energy Biomass, Dry Matter Yield, Pennisetum purpureum Schum.
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.6 No.11,
July
13,
2015
ABSTRACT: Elephant grass is a tropical forage plant widely spread in Brazil, used mainly in the livestock sector and in cattle feeding. Because of its high productivity and photosynthetic capacity, this culture has also been considered an alternative source of renewable energy. Six clones of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) were evaluated under five levels of nitrogen fertilization (100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 kg·N·ha-1), in a randomized-block design with a split-plot arrangement with three replicates, from April 2010 to December 2012, in the city of Campos dos Goytacazes— RJ, Brazil. The objective was to obtain estimates of variation in morpho-agronomic traits and biomass quality. We observed that genotypes Cameroon-Piracicaba and Gua?u I/Z2 have great potential to be used, with maximum dry matter yields of 60.97 and 44.10 t·ha-1 per cut for energy purposes among the studied genotypes.