Harvesting Downed Sorghum Sudangrass for Bioenergy Production

Abstract

<abstract><title><italic>Abstract.</italic></title> The Southern United States has sufficient rainfall and appropriate climate to supply a significant portion of the energy needs of our nation. However, harvesting large biomass crops can be difficult given the intense rainfall and high winds that can accompany hurricanes and tropical depressions. These weather events can flatten bioenergy crops leaving them difficult to harvest. This study examined the potential of using existing hay equipment to harvest artificially flattened sorghum sudangrass, a potential bioenergy crop. Results showed that rotary-type windrowers were better able to harvest downed bioenergy crops than sickle-type windrowers. Additionally, no significant differences in harvested biomass was found in the direction the windrowers were operated in relation to the downed bioenergy crops, regardless of the harvesting direction. Our major conclusion was that completely flattened biomass resulted in the highest losses with more than 20% of the bioenergy crop remaining in the field after harvest. Even though existing agricultural equipment was capable of harvesting large amounts of bioenergy crops that have been downed, improvements may be necessary to increase their capability for handling this problematic scenario.