Download or read book Bioenergy Crop Breeding and Production Research in the Southeast Final Report for 1996 to 2001 written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a native grass species to much of the US. It has shown great potential for use in production of fuel ethanol from cellulosic biomass (Lynd et al., 1991). Work in Alabama demonstrated very high dry matter yields can be achieved with switchgrass (Maposse et al. 1995) in the southeastern US. Therefore, this region is thought to be an excellent choice for development of a switchgrass cropping system where farmers can produce the grass for either biomass or forage. Another report has shown success with selection and breeding to develop high yielding germplasm from adapted cultivars and ecotypes of switchgrass (Moser and Vogel 1995). In the mid 1990s, however, there was little plant breeding effort for switchgrass with a potential for developing a cultivar for the southeast region. The main goal of the project was to develop adaptive, high-yielding switchgrass cultivars for use in cropping systems for bioenergy production in the southeastern US. A secondary objective was to assess the potential of alternate herbaceous species such as bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.), bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flugge.), and napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.) that may compete with switchgrass for herbaceous bioenergy production in the southeast. During the conduct of the project, another goal of developing molecular markers useful for genetic mapping was added. The ''lowland'' cultivars, Alamo and Kanlow, were found to be the highest yielding switchgrass cultivars. Although most summers during the project period were hot and dry, their annual dry matter yield continue to outperform the best ''upland'' cultivars such as Cave-in-Rock, Shawnee, NE Late, and Trailblazer. The use of a breeding procedure based on the ''honeycomb design'' and multi-location progeny testing, coupled with the solid heritability and genetic gain estimates for dry matter yield in lowland type switchgrass germplasm, indicated excellent potential to isolate parental genotypes for producing higher yielding synthetic cultivars. The four experimental synthetics produced thus far, and now in performance tests, could provide this cultivar. Initial performance results of these experimentals have been very promising demonstrating a 30% yield enhancement over Alamo and Kanlow. Future testing, including testing in other states, will be critical before a determination can be made to release one or more of these into the commercial seed trade. In the genetic mapping project, 42 genotypes of switchgrass were surveyed using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) probes from different grass species. The different genotypes included 24 from Alamo, 15 from Kanlow, and 3 from ''Summer.'' A majority of the probes (87%) hybridized to the switchgrass DNA and 81% were polymorphic. Most of the polymorphism observed was between the cultivars. A mapping population consisting of 100 progeny from a cross between the most dissimilar Kanlow and Summer genotypes was produced during 2001. The parents and progeny population are now maintained at the University of Georgia and will be used to construct a map based on the polymorphic RFLP probes. When compared to ''Tifton 85'' bermudagrass, ''Tifton 9'' bahiagrass, and ''Merkron'' napier-grass, Alamo switchgrass was found to show poorer yields than Merkron and Tifton 85, but better yields than Tifton 9 in the coastal plain region. The exceptional performance of Tifton 85 bermudagrass is extremely noteworthy because this hybrid bermudagrass is also a variety of choice for many commercial hay producers in the lower south and would give any producers a very good option to produce either biomass for a biofuels initiative or sell as hay on the open market. Merkron has consistently showed the highest dry matter yields. However, there continues to be some winter damage each year on this species at the Athens location indicating its real potential lies mainly in the Gulf Coast region of the southeastern United States. The excellent characteristic of Tifton 85 and Merkron should therefore be enough to initiate more basic research for their chemical ability as a biofuels crop.
Download or read book Renewable Fuel Standard written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-01-29 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, we have come to depend on plentiful and inexpensive energy to support our economy and lifestyles. In recent years, many questions have been raised regarding the sustainability of our current pattern of high consumption of nonrenewable energy and its environmental consequences. Further, because the United States imports about 55 percent of the nation's consumption of crude oil, there are additional concerns about the security of supply. Hence, efforts are being made to find alternatives to our current pathway, including greater energy efficiency and use of energy sources that could lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as nuclear and renewable sources, including solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. The United States has a long history with biofuels and the nation is on a course charted to achieve a substantial increase in biofuels. Renewable Fuel Standard evaluates the economic and environmental consequences of increasing biofuels production as a result of Renewable Fuels Standard, as amended by EISA (RFS2). The report describes biofuels produced in 2010 and those projected to be produced and consumed by 2022, reviews model projections and other estimates of the relative impact on the prices of land, and discusses the potential environmental harm and benefits of biofuels production and the barriers to achieving the RFS2 consumption mandate. Policy makers, investors, leaders in the transportation sector, and others with concerns for the environment, economy, and energy security can rely on the recommendations provided in this report.
Download or read book Industrial Crops and Uses written by Bharat P. Singh and published by CABI. This book was released on 2010-08-25 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The demand for plant-based industrial raw materials has increased as well as research into expanding the utility of plants for current and future uses. Plants are renewable, have limited or positive environmental impact and have the potential to yield a wide range of products in contrast to petroleum-based materials. Plants can be used in a variety of different industries and products including bioenergy, industrial oil and starch, fibre and dye, rubber and related compounds, insecticide and land rehabilitation. This title offers a comprehensive coverage of each of these uses. Chapters discuss.
Download or read book Genetic Improvement of Bioenergy Crops written by Wilfred Vermerris and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-08-02 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ethanol as an alternative fuel is receiving a lot of attention because it addresses concerns related to dwindling oil supplies, energy independence, and climate change. The majority of the ethanol in the US is produced from corn starch. With the US Department of Energy’s target that 30% of the fuel in the US is produced from renewable resources by 2030, the anticipated demand for corn starch will quickly exceed the current production of corn. This, plus the concern that less grain will become available for food and feed purposes, necessitates the use of other feedstocks for the production of ethanol. For the very same reasons, there is increasing research activity and growing interest in many other biomass crops. Genetic Improvement of Bio-Energy Crops focuses on the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass, which includes corn stover, biomass from dedicated annual and perennial energy crops, and trees as well as a number of important biomass crops. The biomass is typically pretreated through thermochemical processing to make it more amenable to hydrolysis with cellulolytic enzymes. The enzymatic hydrolysis yields monomeric sugars that can be fermented to ethanol by micro-organisms. While much emphasis has been placed on the optimization of thermo-chemical pretreatment processes, production of more efficient hydrolytic enzymes, and the development of robust microbial strains, relatively little effort has been dedicated to the improvement of the biomass itself.
Download or read book Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems written by Douglas L. Karlen and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-06-12 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems presents a comprehensive overview of how cellulosic energy crops can be sustainably produced and converted to affordable energy through liquid fuels, heat and electricity. The book begins with an introduction to cellulosic feedstocks, discussing their potential as a large-scale sustainable energy source, and technologies for the production of liquid fuels, heat and electricity. Subsequent chapters examine miscanthus, switchgrass, sugarcane and energy cane, sorghums and crop residues, reviewing their phylogeny, cultural practices, and opportunities for genetic improvement. This is followed by a detailed focus on woody crops, including eucalyptus, pine, poplar and willow. Critical logistical issues associated with both herbaceous and woody feedstocks are reviewed, and alternate strategies for harvesting, transporting, and storing cellulosic materials are also examined. The final sectionof the booktackles the challenge of achieving long-term sustainability, addressing economic, environmental and social factors. Cellulosic Energy Cropping Systems is a valuable resource for academics, students and industry professionals working in the field of biomass cultivation and conversion, bioenergy, crop science and agriculture. Topics covered include: Identifying suitable cellulosic energy crops that are adapted to a wide range of climates and soils Best management practices for sustainably growing, harvesting, storing, transporting and pre-processing these crops The development of integrated cellulosic energy cropping systems for supplying commercial processing plants Challenges and opportunities for the long-term sustainability of cellulosic energy crops This book was conceived and initiated by David I. Bransby, Professor of Energy and Forage Crops in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences at Auburn University, USA. For more information on the Wiley Series in Renewable Resources, visit www.wiley.com/go/rrs
Download or read book Advances in Agronomy written by and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2011-07-29 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volume 90 of Advances in Agronomy contains seven timely reviews and over 50 descriptive figures. Maintains the highest impact factor among serial publications in Agriculture Presents timely reviews on important agronomy issues Enjoys a long-standing reputation for excellence in the field
Download or read book Twenty Sixth Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals written by Brian H. Davison and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-11-21 with total page 1127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: State-of-the-art research by leading experts ## Advanced feedstock production and processing ## Enzyme and microbial biocatalysis ## Bioprocess research and development ## Commercialization of biobased products.
Download or read book Handbook of Bioenergy Crops written by N. El Bassam and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-02-03 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biomass currently accounts for about fifteen per cent of global primary energy consumption and is playing an increasingly important role in the face of climate change, energy and food security concerns. Handbook of Bioenergy Crops is a unique reference and guide, with extensive coverage of more than eighty of the main bioenergy crop species. For each it gives a brief description, outlines the ecological requirements, methods of propagation, crop management, rotation and production, harvesting, handling and storage, processing and utilization, then finishes with selected references. This is accompanied by detailed guides to biomass accumulation, harvesting, transportation and storage, as well as conversion technologies for biofuels and an examination of the environmental impact and economic and social dimensions, including prospects for renewable energy. This is an indispensable resource for all those involved in biomass production, utilization and research.
Download or read book Bioenergy Feedstocks written by Malay C. Saha and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-04-03 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bioenergy and biofuels are generated from a wide variety of feedstock. Fuels have been converted from a wide range of sources from vegetable oils to grains and sugarcane. Second generation biofuels are being developed around dedicated, non-food energy crops, such as switchgrass and Miscanthus, with an eye toward bioenergy sustainability. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics looks at advances in our understanding of the genetics and breeding practices across this diverse range of crops and provides readers with a valuable tool to improve cultivars and increase energy crop yields. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics opens with chapters focusing primarily on advances in the genetics and molecular biology of dedicated energy crops. These chapters provide in-depth coverage of new, high-potential feedstocks. The remaining chapters provide valuable overview of breeding efforts of current feedstocks with specific attention paid to the development of bioenergy traits. Coverage in these chapters includes crops such as sorghum, energy canes, corn, and other grasses and forages. The final chapters explore the role of transgenics in bioenergy feedstock production and the development of low-input strategies for producing bioenergy crops. A timely collection of work from a global team of bioenergy researchers and crop scientists, Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics is an essential reference on cultivar improvement of biomass feedstock crops.
Download or read book Bioenergy Feedstocks written by Malay C. Saha and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 2013-06-24 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bioenergy and biofuels are generated from a wide variety of feedstock. Fuels have been converted from a wide range of sources from vegetable oils to grains and sugarcane. Second generation biofuels are being developed around dedicated, non-food energy crops, such as switchgrass and Miscanthus, with an eye toward bioenergy sustainability. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics looks at advances in our understanding of the genetics and breeding practices across this diverse range of crops and provides readers with a valuable tool to improve cultivars and increase energy crop yields. Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics opens with chapters focusing primarily on advances in the genetics and molecular biology of dedicated energy crops. These chapters provide in-depth coverage of new, high-potential feedstocks. The remaining chapters provide valuable overview of breeding efforts of current feedstocks with specific attention paid to the development of bioenergy traits. Coverage in these chapters includes crops such as sorghum, energy canes, corn, and other grasses and forages. The final chapters explore the role of transgenics in bioenergy feedstock production and the development of low-input strategies for producing bioenergy crops. A timely collection of work from a global team of bioenergy researchers and crop scientists, Bioenergy Feedstocks: Breeding and Genetics is an essential reference on cultivar improvement of biomass feedstock crops.
Download or read book Food Crop Production by Smallholder Farmers in Southern Africa written by Ambayeba Muimba-Kankolongo and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-02-07 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Food Crop Production by Smallholder Farmers in Southern Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement evaluates traditional cultivation practices used by smallholder farmers, providing a synthesis of the latest information on increasing crop yield through adoption of research innovations. The book catalogs smallholder cultivation practices and recommends innovative strategies for improving the agriculture sector including: management practices that reduce net carbon emissions; technologies that improve soil structures and conserve the natural resources base; means of empowering female resources along value chains; and government commitment to adopt policies that enhance agriculture productivity by encouraging farmers to use environmentally sound cultivation technologies. Traditional farming techniques often produce negative impacts on the environment and ecosystem resulting in outbreaks of diseases and pests. In addition to the region’s recurrent droughts, these outbreaks of numerous diseases and pests, weeds and other invasive plants put thousands at risk of poverty and hunger, as well as malnutrition. This book presents enhanced agricultural production technologies for ensuring adequate food production, safety and nutritional quality for the population of Southern Africa and forms the basis for an increased SADC regional effort in food production through which financial and trade institutions can improve stakeholder capacities, encourage micro-enterprise development and enhance employment and regional trade. Provides a critical synthesis of data and information for increasing crop yield through adoption of research innovations Evaluates traditional and scientific interventions that address food security issues of the poor farmers in the region Presents agro-ecologies of countries in the region and how they relate to various cultivation practices Catalogs smallholder cultivation practices and recommends innovative strategies for improving the agriculture sector
Download or read book Grain Legumes and Green Manures for Soil Fertility in Southern Africa written by Stephen R. Waddington and published by CIMMYT. This book was released on 2003 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book biennal report written by OREGON. State University. Forest Research Laboratory and published by Bib. Orton IICA / CATIE. This book was released on 1975 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Genetically Engineered Crops written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-01-28 with total page 607 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Genetically engineered (GE) crops were first introduced commercially in the 1990s. After two decades of production, some groups and individuals remain critical of the technology based on their concerns about possible adverse effects on human health, the environment, and ethical considerations. At the same time, others are concerned that the technology is not reaching its potential to improve human health and the environment because of stringent regulations and reduced public funding to develop products offering more benefits to society. While the debate about these and other questions related to the genetic engineering techniques of the first 20 years goes on, emerging genetic-engineering technologies are adding new complexities to the conversation. Genetically Engineered Crops builds on previous related Academies reports published between 1987 and 2010 by undertaking a retrospective examination of the purported positive and adverse effects of GE crops and to anticipate what emerging genetic-engineering technologies hold for the future. This report indicates where there are uncertainties about the economic, agronomic, health, safety, or other impacts of GE crops and food, and makes recommendations to fill gaps in safety assessments, increase regulatory clarity, and improve innovations in and access to GE technology.
Download or read book Biofuel Crop Sustainability written by Bharat Singh and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-05-09 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biofuel Crop Sustainability brings together the basic principles of agricultural sustainability and special stipulations for biofuels, from the economic and ecological opportunities and challenges of sustainable biofuel crop production to the unique characteristics of particular crops which make them ideal for biofuel applications. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers and professionals involved in biofuels development and production as well as agriculture industry personnel. Chapters focus the broad principles of resource management for ecological, environmental and societal welfare, the sustainability issues pertaining to several broad categories of biofuel crops , as well as the economics and profitability of biofuels on both a local and international scale. Coverage includes topics such as utilizing waste water for field crop irrigation and algae production, reliability of feedstock supply, marginal lands, and identifying crops with traits of significance for survival and growth on low fertility soils. The development of production practices with low external inputs of fertilizer, irrigation, and pesticides is also covered. Biofuel Crop Sustainability will be a valuable, up-to-date reference for all those involved in the rapidly expanding biofuels industry and sustainable agriculture research fields.
Download or read book Biofuel Crops written by Bharat P. Singh and published by CABI. This book was released on 2013 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing comprehensive coverage on biofuel crop production and the technological, environmental and resource issues associated with a sustainable biofuel industry, this book is ideal for researchers and industry personnel. Beginning with an introduction to biofuels and the challenges they face, the book then includes detailed coverage on crops of current importance or with high future prospects, including sections on algae, sugar crops and grass, oil and forestry species. The chapters focus on the genetics, breeding, cultivation, harvesting and handling of each crop.
Download or read book New Vistas in Agroforestry written by P. K. Ramachandran Nair and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was in late 2002 that the idea of preparing a collection of multi-authored chapters on different aspects of ag- st forestry as a compendium for the 1 World Congress of Agroforestry, June 2004, was tossed around. With the approval of the idea by the Congress Organizing Committee, serious efforts to make it a reality got under way in early 2003. The rigorously peer-reviewed and edited manuscripts were submitted to the publisher in December 2003. Considering the many differentindividualsinvolved in the task as authors and manuscriptreviewers, we feel quite pleased that the task could be accomplished within this timeframe. We are pleased also about the contents on several counts. First of all, the tropical-temperate mix of topics is a rare feature of a publication of this nature. In spite of the scienti?c commonalities between tropical and temperate practices of agroforestry, the differences between them are so enormous that it is often impossible to mesh them together in one publication. Secondly, several of the chapters are on topics that have not been discussed or described much in agroforestryliterature. A third feature is that some of the authors, though well known in their own disciplinary areas, are somewhat new to agroforestry; the perceptions and outlooks of these scholars who are relatively unin?uenced by the past happenings in agroforestry gives a whole new dimension to agroforestry and broadensthescopeofthesubject. Finally, ratherthanjustreviewingandsummarizingpastwork,mostchapterstake the extra effort in attempting to outline the next steps.
