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

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

3. 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

4. Common Energycane Germplasm *from USDA-ARS-SRU, Houma, LA

5. 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

6. 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

7. July • Stalk counts and diameter

8. 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

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

11. Planting prep Sept. 2007

12. Planting of seed cane

13. Plant establishment November 2007

14. February 2008

15. First Year Field Starkville, MS; Oct 2007

16. Starkville November 2007

17. Starkville -November 2007

18. Starkville - February 2008

20. 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) • GoroUehara, (U Hawaii, Waimanalo) – 2009 addition • Ted Wilson, et al. (TAMU, Beaumont, TX)

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

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

23. Issues/Major Factors

24. Obstacles to Data Collection • El Niño • Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, and still rain • Starkville ended 2009 @ 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

25. EnergycaneBrixStarkville, October 2008 and 2009 Brix % Sweet Sorghum Sugarcane Energycane

26. 35 30 25 20 Mean Heights (m) Monthly Mean Temperature (oC) 15 10 5 0 St. Gabriel, LA (oC) Starkville, MS (oC)

27. First Year Energycane DM Yield by Location

28. Mean Mg/ha

29. First Year Dry Matter Yield Energycane 2009-2010

30. 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)

31. Summary Findings, cont’d • Yield varies by genotype • Location matters, with Tifton, GA toping locations • Well-drained soils, with excellent rainfall • Ho 72-114 seems best adapted to all locations tested.

32. US 72-114 (Chacahoula, LA ) US 72-114 (Starkville MS)

33. 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

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

35. 2009 Second Year Energycane Field Tifton, GA