ROLE OF CUTTING TYPE AND PLANTING DENSITY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BIOMASS FROM NAPIER GRASS (Pennisetum purpureum SCHUMACH.)
Keywords:
Production, propagation, biomass, Pennisetum purpureum, density, cuttingAbstract
Climate change is going to impact agriculture, so that biofuel production from crops like Napier grass will be produced under more restricted environment’s conditions in the upcoming years. This field experiment was conducted to determine the importance of the size of cane-section cuttings establishment and performance on the field under minimal farming management in the Nakhon Ratchasima Province/Thailand. The effects of initial cutting length, planting method (vertical or horizontal) or initiation density of setts (a short cane-section cutting that contains at least two nodes) were compared as to propagation success, plant survival, tiller formation and dry matter yield (DMY) under rainfed conditions in randomized block design. An early harvest, tested on horizontally buried setts, did not affect an increase of tiller formation, but the tiller increased with maturation instead. The planting method, horizontal or vertical, of setts did not affect the plant architecture like tiller formation for DMY production in the end. In the drier 2012/13 period, an increasing density of setts tended to produce more DMY, a trend, that was lost during the wetter 2013/14 period. Though longer canes produced absolutely more DMY than the compared smaller sections but a significantly better performance or DMY could not been found. From our results, we conclude that the rate of successfully propagated cuttings or plant architecture is not equivalent for DMY. Attributes like planting density or length of cane-section did not affect the later-produced biomass under restricted farming conditions.
References
Bakker, H. (1999). Sugar Cane Cultivation and Management. Springer, Boston, MA. 679p.
Beyl, C.A. and Trigiano, R.N. (2016). Plant Propagation Concepts and Laboratory Exercises. 2nd ed. CRC Press., 499p.
Burgess, D., Hendrickson, O.Q., and Roy, L. (1990). The importance of initial cutting size for improving the growth performance of Salix alba L. Scand. J. For. Res. 5(1-4):215-224.
Ferraris, R. and Sinclair, D. (1980). Factors affecting the growth of Pennisetum purpureum in the wet tropics. II. Uninterrupted growth. Aust. J. Agric. Res., 31(5):915-925.
Haegele, T. and Arjharn, W. (2017). The effects of cultivation methods and planting season on biomass yield of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.) under rainfed conditions in the northeast region of Thailand. Field Crops Res., 214:359-364.
Haegele, T., Bunnom, T., Khumhom, S., Braeuchler, C., Liplap, P., and Arjharn, W. (2017). Expanding the farming potential of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum SCHUMACH.) under low-fertile conditions. Suranaree J. Sci. Technol., 24(2):137-151.
Hanna, W.W., Chaparro, C.J., Mathews, B.W., Burns, J.C., Sollenberger, L.E., and Carpenter, J.R. (2004). Perennial pennisetums. In: Warm-season (C4) grasses. Moser, L.E., Burson, B.L., and Sollenberger, L.E. (eds). American Society of Agronomy, p. 503-535.
Jansen, H., Bachthaler, E., Fölster, E., and Scharpf, H.-C. (1998). Gärtnerischer Pflanzenbau: Grundlagen des Anbaus unter Glas und Kunststoffen. 3rd ed. UTB, Stuttgart., 447p.
Jørgensen, S.T., Pookpakdi, A., Tudsri, S., Stölen, O., Ortiz, R., and Christiansen, J.L. (2010). Cultivar-by-cutting height interactions in Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) grown in a tropical rain-fed environment. Acta Agric. Scand. Sect. B - Soil Plant Sci. 60(3):199-210.
Knoll, J.E.and Anderson, W.F. (2012). Vegetative propagation of Napiergrass and energycane for biomass production in the Southeastern United States. Agron. J. 104(2):518-522.
Kubota, F., Matsuda, Y., Agata, W., and Nada, K. (1994). The relationship between canopy structure and high productivity in napier grass, Pennisetum purpureum Schumach. Field Crops Res. 38:105-110.
Leakey, R.R. (2004). Physiology of vegetative reproduction. In: Encyclopaedia of Forest Sciences. Burley, J., Evans, J. and Youngquist, J. (Eds.). Academic Press. London, p. 1,655-1,668.
McCracken, A.R., Moore, J.P., Walsh, L.R.E., and Lynch, M. (2010). Effect of planting vertical/horizontal willow (Salix spp.) cuttings on establishment and yield. Biomass Bioenergy. 34:1,764-1,769.
Ministry of Energy, Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (2014). Napier Grass. Bangkok. Thailand. Available from: http://weben. dede.go.th/webmax/content/napier-grass. Accessed date: April 20, 2018.
Miyagi, E. (1980). The effect of planting density on yield of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach). Sci. Bull. Coll. Agric. Univ. Ryukyus 27:293-301.
Mohammed, U.S., Animut, G., and Urge, M. (2016). Effect of different spacing of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) intercropped with or without Lablab (Lablab purpureus) on biomass yield and nutritional value of Napier grass. Sci. J. Pure Appl. Sci., 5(9):496-508.
Mueller, N.D., Gerber, J.S., Johnson, M., Ray, D.K., Ramankutty, N and Foley, J.A. (2012). Closing yield gaps through nutrient and water management. Nature, 490(7419):254-257.
Pholsen, S., Rodchum, P., Sommart, K., Ta-un, M., and Higgs, D.E.B. (2014). Dry matter yield and quality of forages derived from three grass species with and without legumes using organic production methods. Khon Kaen Agr. J., 42(1):65-80.
Rengsirikul, K., Ishii, Y., Kangvansaichol, K., Pripanapong, P., Sripichitt, P., Punsuvon, V., Vaithanomsat, P., Nakamanee, G., and Tudsri, S. (2011). Effects of inter-cutting interval on biomass yield, growth components and chemical composition of napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) cultivars as bioenergy crops in Thailand. Grassl. Sci., 57(3):135-141.
Rowe, R.L., Goulson, D., Doncaster, C.P., Clarke, D.J., Taylor, G., and Hanley, M.E. (2013). Evaluating ecosystem processes in willow short rotation coppice bioenergy plantations. Gcb. Bioenergy., 5(3):257-266.
Rusland, G.A., Sollenberger, L.E.m and Jones, C.S. (1993). Nitrogen fertilization effects on planting stock characteristics and establishment performance of Dwarf Elephantgrass. Agron. J., 85(4):857-861.
Sekiya, N., Shiotsu, F., Abe, J., and Morita, S. (2013). Distribution and quantity of root systems of field-grown Erianthus and Napier Grass. Am. J. Plant Sci., 04(12):16-22.
Stöcker, M. (2008). Biofuels and biomass-to-liquid fuels in the biorefinery: Catalytic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass using porous materials. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 47(48):9,200-9,211.
Tessema, Z. (2008). Effect of plant density on morphological characteristics, yield and chemical composition of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum (L.) Schumach). East Afr. J. Sci., 2(1):55-61.
Tilahun, G., Asmare, B., and Mekuriaw, Y. (2017). Effects of harvesting age and spacing on plant characteristics, chemical composition and yield of desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum Trin.) in the highlands of Ethiopia. Trop. Grassl.-Forrajes Trop. 5(2):77-84.
Vangnai, S. (1981). Current situation of nodulated legumes in Thailand. J Sci Soc Thail., 7:18-24.
Vigl, F. and Rewald, B. (2014). Size matters?-The diverging influence of cutting length on growth and allometry of two Salicaceae clones. Biomass Bioenergy 60: 130-136.
Wijnhoud, J.D., Konboon, Y., and Lefroy, R.D.B. (2003). Nutrient budgets: sustainability assessment of rainfed lowland rice-based systems in northeast Thailand. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ., 100(2):119-127.
Woodard, K.R. and Prine, G.M. (1990). Propagation quality of elephantgrass stems as affected by the fertilization rate used on nursery plants. Proc. - Soil Crop Sci. Soc. Fla., 49:173-176.
