WWW.NESUNGRANT.CORNELL.EDU
U.S. Department of
Transportation
Northeast Region
OPTIMAL HARVEST TIME OF SWITCHGRASS
Dr. Stephen Herbert, University of Massachusetts
Our goal is to determine how time of harvest affects the plants ability to survive winter and re-grow the next season by examining the
effect time of harvest on total non-structural carbohydrates (TNC)
and other macronutrients that get stored in the root system.
Determining when the maximum amount of nutrients (N, K, Cl)
have left the stalk and moved back into the root system will help
maximize the efficiency nutrient cycling and demonstrate differences in slag formation when switchgrass biomass from different
harvest dates is burned. Since switchgrass is being grown as a biofuel for heating as well as cellulosic ethanol, it is important to
evaluate silicon and alkali metal contents in the harvested crop, as
these could contribute to air pollution. We will document the extent that mineral content in the biomass is a function of the soil type
and the timing of harvest.
Two particular nutrients of interest are nitrogen and sulfur because
during combustion these are likely to produce the primary air pollutants NO2 and SO2. These air pollutants are highly regulated by
the Clean Air Act and taken into consideration when developing
switchgrass as a biofuel. Marginal land may contain contaminates
and it is therefore important to evaluate how time of harvest will
impact the overall quality of the fuel product from marginal soils.
PI: Dr. Stephen Herbert,
University of Massachusetts, Plant, Soil and Insect
Sciences
Co-PI: Dr. Masoud
Hashemi, University of
Massachusetts, Plant, Soil
and Insect Sciences
Grad Student: Leryn
Gorlitsky, University of
Mas-sachusetts, Plant,
Soil and Insect Sciences
Funded: $30,000
Start Date: 07/01/2009
The goal of the applied research in this project are to provide much End Date: 06/30/2011
requested information for growing biofuel
crops particularly on underutilized or marginal
land so as not to compete with land currently
producing food crops. Source of Sun Grant Funding:
United States Department of Transportation
Other Sources of Funding:
University of Massachusetts