Abstract
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of different herbicide treatments on moisture removal and calorific power of biomass sorghum for co-generation of electric energy through burning. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with four replicates per treatment and a 6x4 factorial scheme (six herbicide treatments x four intervals between spraying and harvesting). The herbicide treatments were: two different doses of glyphosate (1.92 kg a.i. ha-1 and 3.84 Kg a.i. ha-1), paraquat (0.4 Kg a.i. ha-1), a commercial mixture of paraquat + diuron (0.6 + 0.3 Kg a.i. ha-1), glufosinate-ammonium (0.8 Kg a.i. ha-1) and control (unsprayed). The intervals between spraying and harvesting assessed were 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after desiccation (DAD). It was assessed: the number of leaves per plant, moisture content of leaves, panicles, culm and whole ground plants and Superior Calorific Power (SCP). The herbicides paraquat and paraquat + diuron promotes defoliation, after 14 DAD. Glyphosate, paraquat, paraquat + diuron and glufosinate-ammonium reduce leaf and panicle moisture, despite only glyphosate reduces moisture in the culm. The herbicides do not affect the SCP of biomass sorghum. Therefore, the herbicides, especially glyphosate, have high potential for pre-harvest desiccation in biomass sorghum.
Highlights
The demand for renewable fuels has increased the interest in crops designated for biodiesel and second generation ethanol production (Alvim et al, 2014)
Up to 14 days after desiccation (DAD) there was no significant difference between treatments for the number of leaves per plant (Figure 3A)
At 21 and 28 DAD, the plants sprayed with paraquat and paraquat + diuron presented defoliation
Summary
The demand for renewable fuels has increased the interest in crops designated for biodiesel and second generation ethanol production (Alvim et al, 2014) This contributes to the expansion of the energy cogeneration market, resulting from the burning of biomass for electricity production. Lignocellulosic biomass from various sources has been used, such as crop residues, sugarcane bagasse and maize straw, as well as trees and grasses (Guerriero et al, 2016) In this context, biomass sorghum is capable of expanding the cogeneration of electricity by the sugarcane industry (Liu et al, 2017) as it has a high fiber content, short production cycle (six months), adaptation to various climate and soil conditions and lower water requirements than sugarcane and maize (Galina et al, 2018). Pre-harvest desiccation with herbicides enables anticipation of the harvest (Parreira et al, 2015), facilitate the work of harvesters, reduce losses resulting from exposure of plants to biotic and abiotic factors and contribute to higher quality of harvested material
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