Mississippi Feedstocks Research Dept. of Plant and Soil Science Brian Baldwin Dept. of Plant and Soil Science

Focus Crops Dry Harvested, truly deciduous Wet harvested Switchgrass Giant miscanthus (Mxg) – yields are twice swtg Wet harvested Sweet sorghum (sugar and bagasse) Energycane (some sugar and whole stalk) Inclusion of Mississippi cultivars Napiergrass (elephantgrass) – de-emphasized

Switchgrass 7-10 T/A Giant Miscanthus 18-20 T/A

Standability

Sweet sorghum 8-12 T/A Naipergrass 0-19 T/A Energycane 5-23 T/A

End of Season Harvest 2008 Tonnage Tons/A (front columns) Mg/ha (back columns)

Wood Still the primary feedstock for existing and new EtOH and syngas plants Can we provide grass between trees as they are regenerating (co-culture). What are the potential effects on each crop? What are the economics of the expected yield compromise?

Establishment Like real estate, its all about three things Establishment, establishment, establishment Need herbicides that work for switchgrass pre- especially Need herbicides we can use in Mxg

Low Seed Dormancy Herbicide Resistance Seed Safener

Land Resources Land for biomass crops will NOT come from row crop land Land will come from hill country where it can serve as a (soil) conservation incentive

Land Resources Land will come from CRP and pasture What will be the method of conversion? Can we convert from existing CRP and pasture land? Develop establishment techniques to enable swtg proliferation in mixed stands

Nutrient Cycling / Lower Inputs Track N cycling in the plant

Nutrient Cycling / Lower Inputs Associative dinitrogen fixation Association of micro-organisms in and around the crop roots

Nutrient Cycling / Lower Inputs Winter legumes (perennial or annual) as a source of nitrogen Must be timed with harvest

Nutrient Cycling / Lower Inputs Organics/carbon sequestration over time

Use of By-products Char Syngas and biooil plants getting 250,000 lbs of feedstock a day will generate volumes of this. Will application to soil affect nutrient availability? Can we create terra preta nova ? Will it be advantageous?

Co-ordination with Feds. DoE and its derivatives (INL, NREL, ORNL) Characterization of factors that affect quality of biomass Weathering effects on structural carbohydrates Fertilizer source (esp Cl- and SO4-2) Soil type and luxury consumption of soil minerals Species effects on structural carbohydrates Cultivar (esp. Forestburg) USDA (ARS and NRCS)