Energycane: First Year Brian Baldwin, Herbaceous Feedstocks Meeting San Antonio, Texas 22 February 2010

Energycane -Hybrid of sugarcane and wild cane -Bred for high fiber, high biomass -Tolerance to cold weather -Fermentable sugars

Concept Energycane – Cellulose for bioethanol/biomass High yields and perennial Limitations of sugarcane’s abilities in the “North” Sugarcane infrastructure in place – Advantage of sucrose Can be fermented if harvestable Sugary bagasse is subject to enhanced fermentation as a precursor to cellulose SSF Capture-able with slow pyrolysis

Common Energycane Germplasm Germplasm Line*Pedigree Ho F 1 (Wild Cane x Sugarcane) Ho F 1 (Wild Cane x Sugarcane) Ho BC 1 with Sugarcane Ho BC 1 with Wild Cane Ho BC 1 with Wild Cane *from USDA-ARS-SRU, Houma, LA

Base Field Dimensions Plot = 10 m x 3 rows (6m) – Sacrifice row (Brix) – Harvest 2 rows Base Rep = 10m x 30m Base Test = 132m x 30m – (or any combination) inclusion of other genotypes

Spring Emergence data – date and rating (shoots/plot) Date of 50% emergence and soil temp Data during growing season – Height, bi-weekly – Brix monthly from sacrifice row

July Stalk counts and diameter

Fall 2009 Harvest Data EOS – Each location needs to fix that time Stalk count and diameter Final height Rating after first hard frost (differences?) Final Brix – want a 50 ml sap sample, freeze Fresh harvest weight – Sap yield – Stalk moist weight – Stalk dry weight – Stalk samples for fiber analysis Starkville MS; Nov 2007

Fall/Winter Harvest (other two rows) Moisture Southern locations Harvest and weigh

Planting prep Sept. 2007

Planting of seed cane

Plant establishment November 2007

February 2008

Starkville, MS; Oct 2007 First Year Field

Starkville November 2007

Starkville -November 2007

Starkville - February 2008

DoE Feedstock Partnership Collaborators Bill Anderson via Wayne Hanna (USDA via UGA, Tifton, GA) Brian Baldwin (MSU, Starkville, MS) Jürg Blumenthal (TAMU, College Station, TX) Charlie Brummer (UGA, Athens, GA) – 2008 addition Kenneth Gravois (LSU, St. Gabriel, LA) Jimmy Ray Parish (MSU, Raymond MS) Ed Richard /Tom Tew/Anna Hale (ARS-SRU, Houma, LA) Goro Uehara, (U Hawaii, Waimanalo) – 2009 addition Ted Wilson, et al. (TAMU, Beaumont, TX)

Starkville Athens Tifton St. Gabriel Beaumont Raymond College Station Honalulu Houma

Starkville Tifton Beaumont Raymond College Station Honalulu St. Gabriel Athens Houma

Issues/Major Factors LocationIssue/Major FactorStatus Waimanalo, HILegislation Heat treatment of seed cane Overturned, 2009 Slow growth Beaumont, TXHurricane Rita spawned tornadoesSeed cane unavailable, 1 year behind College Station, TX DroughtLower yield, but on track Starkville, MSExcessive rainLive with it

Obstacles to Data Collection El Niño – Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, and still rain – Starkville ended 84.5” (54” normal) – Same at: Tifton, Athens, St. Gabriel The weight of biomass – Energycane harvested at 60-70% moisture – A dry weight of 3 T/A is actually 4.2 T/A – Most sites harvest by hand

Energycane Brix Starkville, October 2008 and 2009 Brix % Energycane Sweet Sorghum Sugarcane

Mean Heights (m) Monthly Mean Temperature ( o C) St. Gabriel, LA ( o C) Starkville, MS ( o C)

First Year Energycane DM Yield by Location Energycane Genotype Athens, GA Starkville, MS Raymond, MS Tifton, GA College Station, TX St. Gabriel, LA Yield (Mg/ha) Ho c7.79 ab17.86 a24.38 d10.22 a14.06 c Ho c4.85 b22.08 a30.24 bc11.37 a17.65 ab Ho ab10.12 a14.25 a24.88 d15.00 a16.99 abc Ho bc7.43 ab17.18 a28.24cd14.10 a14.43 bc Ho a6.94 ab14.10 a38.27 a17.22 a19.80 a Ho a12.64 a L b LSD α

Mean Mg/ha

First Year Dry Matter Yield Energycane Starkville, MS northern site St. Gabriel, LA southern site Tifton, GA southern site GenotypeYield (Mg/ha) Ho a16.99 abc24.88 d Ho ab14.06 c24.38 d Ho ab14.43 bc28.24 cd Ho ab19.80 a38.27 a Ho b17.65 ab30.24 bc

Summary Findings Brix affected by rain Brix affected by genotype Spring onset of growth different – Early onset in genotypes closer to sugarcane can lead to higher yields at the southern locations – Early onset of genotypes closer to wild cane are not good for maximum growth in the “North” (spring frost)

Summary Findings, cont’d Yield varies by genotype Location matters, with Tifton, GA toping locations – Well-drained soils, with excellent rainfall Ho seems best adapted to all locations tested.

US (Starkville MS) US (Chacahoula, LA )

Energycane Drawbacks Energycane – Of tropical origin Not photoperiodically senescing – Wet harvest – Removal of nutrients Limitations of sugarcane’s abilities in the “North” – Advantage of sucrose Limited accumulation, especially with excess rain Sugar and fiber are inversely proportional – Associative nitrogen fixation

Trans-species Comparison (Starkville 2008) Tonnage (Mg/ha)

2009 Second Year Energycane Field Tifton, GA