1. Types of Switchgrass
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum): is a summer perennial grass that is native to North america.
There are two major Categories for Switchgrass:
Upland Cultivars
Upland types usually grow 5 to 6 feet tall and are adapted to well drained soils.
Lowland Cultivars
Lowland Cultivars are more adaptive to warmer climates such as the southern USA and are much higher yielding than uplands.
Lowland types grow up to 12 feet tall and which are typically found on heavy soils in bottomland sites.
In Kentucky, Lowland types are what is commonly and potentially being grown.

2. Lowland Switchgrass
Switchgrass is broadly adapted and will perform well in a wide range of soil types; successful establishment requires planting when the soil temperature is warm and moisture is available.
Alamo and Kanlow are potential types of lowland switchgrass being grown for biofuels production in Kentucky
Alamo & Kanlow have a high dry matter (DM) yield capability.
They display good resistance to stem rust disease.
Have good cold-weather tolerance
Have a fair drought tolerance

3. Lowland Switchgrass Info
Kanlow
Alamo
Soils: clays to fine sands
Minimum rainfall: 20 inches
Height: 3 – 8 feet
Spread: 24 – 60 inches
Soils: clays to fine sands
Minimum rainfall: 20 inches
Height: 4 – 10 feet
Spread: 24 – 60 inches

4. Planting Methods Alamo Kanlow Plant in early spring to mid-summer
Can use no-till, conventional, and broadcast methods of seeding.
Planting depth: ¼ inch
Planting rate: 6 lbs PLS per acre.
Seed cost: $13.25 per pound
pH: medium range of P and K are desirable w/ pH 5.5 – 6.5
Planting in early spring to mid-summer.
Can use no-till, conventional, and broadcast methods of seeding.
Planting depth: ½ inch
Planting rate: 6 lbs PLS per acre.
Seed cost: $13.25 per pound
pH: medium range of P and K are desirable w/ pH 5.5 – 6.5

5. Harvesting
Switchgrass can be harvested and baled with commercially available haying equipment.
Self-propelled harvesters equipped with a rotary head (disc mowers) have most effectively harvested high-yielding (>6-ton per acre) switchgrass fields.
Additionally, after a killing frost, the multidirectional arrangement of the switchgrass in the windrow was easier to bale than the linearly arranged windrow left by a sickle-bar head.

6. Storage
Tobacco warehouses located within a 50 mile radius of Winchester, Kentucky will potentially provide spacious storage facilities with easy road access. Large amounts of the biomass could be kept inside, out of the weather conditions, leading to higher dry matter yields and less economic loss, contributing to the over all success of the biofuels industry in Kentucky.

7. Processing 2 pretreatments:
Chopping=changing the structural composition, physically
Pretreated biomass= changing the structural composition chemically
**Once pretreated, the biomass is ready for enzymatic saccharification; this process extracts the sugars which will be fed to algae to produce algae oil, which can then be refined into biodiesel.