Abstract
The biomass potential of eight high yielding maize cultivars was studied in the sub-boreal climate of southern Finland. The effects of harvest date on lignin and sugar production, biomass yield, mineral element composition, bioenergy potential and soil nutrient management were determined in two years. The eight maize cultivars produced 17.6–33.3 t ha-1 of biomass. The ear fraction contained 50–60% of the biomass, and ash and mineral element composition of the plant fractions were significantly different (p < 0.001), with more ash, Ca and S in the above-ear fractions of the plants than in the mid-stalk portions, whereas the C:N ratio was highest in the lower stalk. Cultivars with less lignin content produced more fermetable sugars. Despite the relatively cool growing conditions and short season of the sub-boreal region, maize has potential for use as biomass, for biofuel or other uses. The crop can be fractioned into ear and stalk, with the lower 20 cm of stalk left in the field to maintain soil organic matter content.
Highlights
Cropping options in the boreal and nemoral regions are restricted by the brevity of the growing season and the limited number of growing degree-days during the season
This study showed that the lower 20 cm of the harvestable part of the maize plants contained about three quarters of a ton of C, and it is reasonable to assume that the bottom 10 cm would contain about half that, making a total of over 1 ton of organic carbon that could be recycled into the soil
Several crops have been evaluated for energy production but there are few studies that assess the possibility to harvest separately, the different plant fractions of maize for energy use
Summary
Cropping options in the boreal and nemoral (sub-boreal) regions are restricted by the brevity of the growing season and the limited number of growing degree-days (heat sum) during the season. Over a century of scientific plant breeding has increased its cool-weather tolerance to the extent that it is a major crop in, among others, the United Kingdom When it is grown as a silage crop, there is no need for its grain to mature to harvest-dryness. When grown for grain, the crop generates a huge quantity of stubble made of leaves and stalks of little commercial value (Barros-Rios et al 2015). This vegetative biomass has been at the center of biofuel research (Byrt et al 2011). Maize stubble could be combusted in Combined Heat and Power plants (CHP)
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