Abstract
Since silage maize is the main crop grown for biogas production (biomass crop) in Germany; its increasing cultivation is critically discussed in terms of social and agronomical aspects. To investigate if sugar beet is suitable as an alternative biomass crop to silage maize; three-year field trials with both biomass crops in rotations with winter wheat (food crop) and continuous cultivation were conducted at three highly productive sites. Dry matter (DM) yield per hectare was measured via field trials whereas methane yield per hectare was estimated via a calculation. Higher annual DM yield was achieved by silage maize (19.5–27.4 t∙ha−1∙a−1) compared to sugar beet root (10.7–23.0 t∙ha−1∙a−1). Dry matter yield was found to be the main driver for the estimated methane yield. Thus; higher estimated methane yield was produced by silage maize (6458–9388 Nm3∙ha−1) with overlaps to sugar beet root (3729–7964 Nm3∙ha−1). We; therefore; classify sugar beet as a suitable alternative biomass crop to silage maize; especially when cultivated in crop rotations with winter wheat. Additionally; we found that the evaluation of entire crop rotations compared to single crops is a more precise approach since it includes rotational effects.
Highlights
In the European Union, 20% of the total energy production has to be of renewable origin by2020
As one part of our joint project, the present study aimed to investigate if sugar beet root is suitable as an alternative biomass crop to silage maize for biogas production
The highest sugar beet root annual Dry matter (DM) yield was significantly lower (17.7 tha1 ̈a1 ) and was obtained when winter wheat was the preceding crop. This sugar beet root yield was not significantly lower compared to silage maize grown in the rotation silage maize—winter wheat—winter wheat and under continuous cultivation
Summary
In the European Union, 20% of the total energy production has to be of renewable origin by. No study has been, so far, conducted comparing directly the methane yield per hectare of silage maize and sugar beet root when grown in various crop rotations in the same experiment on highly productive sites. As one part of our joint project, the present study aimed to investigate if sugar beet root is suitable as an alternative biomass crop to silage maize for biogas production. For this purpose, we (i) assessed the dry matter (DM) yield per hectare of both biomass crops as affected by different preceding crops and of entire crop rotations, and (ii) estimated the methane yield per hectare of both crops
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