1. Sorghum and Maize Biomass, Protein and Bioethanol Yields in a Semi-Arid Environment of Central Greece
- Author
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Tsitsibikou, N., Dichala, O., Archontoulis, S.V., Bartzialis, D., Tzortzios, S., Danalatos, N.G., and Struik, P.C.
- Subjects
Life Science ,Biomass ,Leerstoelgroep Gewas- en onkruidecologie ,PE&RC ,Crop and Weed Ecology - Abstract
We investigated biomass and protein productivity of Sudan sorghum and maize crops in relation to nitrogen fertilization (6, 15 and 35 g m2) in central Greece. Sudan sorghum was cultivated under two management techniques: (a) as a row crop similar to maize cultivation (rowtorow distance: 75 cm; observed shoot density: 27 per m2) with a single harvest per year; and (b) as a very dense crop (rowtorow distance: 10 cm; observed shoot density: 155 per m2) with a three harvests per year, each when plants reached 1 m in height. Results indicated that Sudan sorghum grown at high plant density and harvested three times per season gave 67, 23 and 40% higher fresh, dry, and protein biomass yields, respectively, than maize. This superiority was explained by the fast increase in leaf area early in the season and by the high leaf/stem ratio at harvest. However, this cultivation strategy only yielded well at large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer (P, Proceedings of the 19th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition, 6-10 June 2011, Berlin, Germany, pp. 720-726
- Published
- 2011