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BIOMASS ENERGY CROPPING SYSTEM.

Objetivo

DURING THE LAST DECADE, APPRECIABLE ATTENTION HAS BEEN DEVOTED TO DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY INCLUSIVE THE ENERGY FROM BIOMASS. NEVERTHELESS, IN PRACTICE EXPLOITATION OF THE BIOMASS AS RAW MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION OF FUELS STILL REMAINS UNSUFFICIENT, MAINLY FOR ECONOMIC REASONS. IRRESPECTIVE OF THIS, FROM THE ECOLOGICAL POINT OF VIEW, THE EXPLOITATION OF THE BIOMASS USING MICROBIAL CONVERSION PROCESSES, NAMELY THE METHANOGENIC FERMENTATION, APPEARS ATTRACTIVE. HOWEVER, THE MICROBIAL CONVERSION REQUIRES RAW MATERIALS WITH SPECIFIC QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS HIGH CONTENT OF DECOMPOSIBLE SUBSTRATES, A LOW CONTENT OF LIGNIN ETC.
TO ELABORATE SUITABLE AGROTECHNICAL METHODS FOR ENERGY-CROPS, A FIELD EXPERIMENT SUPPLIED BY LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS WAS STARTED IN SPRING 1986. SELECTED POTENTIAL CROPS: SUGAR BEET - BETA VULGARIS, JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE - HELIANTHUS TUBEROSUS, RHUBARB - RHEUM RHAPONTICUM AND COMFREY - SYMPHYTUM ASPERUM WERE GROWN USING DIFFERENT AGROTECHNICAL SYSTEMS AND DIFFERENT CULTIVATION METHODS. SPACING OF PLANTS WAS A MAJOR VARIABLE OF THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN.
SUGAR BEET CROP WAS STARTED BY SOWING OF GENETICALLY MONOGERM CALLIBRATED SEEDS. FOUR VARIETIES AND THREE DIFFERENT DENSITIES OF THE CROP, COMBINED WITH FOUR LEVELS OF N NUTRITION, WERE APPLIED. THE EXPERIMENT WITH JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE WAS ESTABLISHED BY PLANTING OF TUBERS HARVESTED IN SPRING. TWO DIFFERENT DENSITIES OF THE CROP WERE USED. DURING THE GROWTH SEASON, LAI OF SUGAR BEET AND JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE HAS BEEN MEASURED PERIODICALLY.
THE PERENNIAL CROPS - RHUBARB AND COMFREY WERE ESTABLISHED USING THE VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION, TRANSPLANTING OF SEEDLINGS, AND DIRECT SOWING. TWO DENSITIES OF THE CROP WERE USED. TO ALLOW DEVELOPMENT OF A STRONG ROOT SYSTEM, NO HARVEST WAS MADE DURING THE FIRST GROWTH SEASON. ACCORDING TO THE ACTUAL RESEARCH PROGRAM, EVALUATION OF THE FIELD EXPERIMENT WITH THESE TWO CROPS WILL START IN THE SEASON 1987.

SUGAR BEET:
FOUR VARIETIES - BRITTA, REGENT, HUGIN AND KRAKE WERE INCLUDED IN THE FIELD EXPERIMENT. ON AN AVERAGE 72,000, 135,000 AND 129,000 PLANTS PER HA WAS ACHIEVED IN TREATMENTS 1, 2 AND 3, RESPECTIVELY. FERTILIZERS (94 KG/HA P AND 236 KG/HA K) WERE SPREAD OVER THE WHOLE AREA BEFORE SOWING. NITROGEN FERTILIZERS WERE ADDED, PLACED ALONG THE ROWS ON 21.05.86 AND GRADUALLY SUPPLEMENTED ON 2.-6.6.1986. WEED WAS CONTROLLED EXCLUSIVELY BY THE USE OF MECHANICAL MEANS. THE INSECTICIDE ANTHIO WAS APPLIED BY SPRAYING OVER THE WHOLE AREA (15.6.1986) TO CONTROL THE CRITICAL INVASION OF PEGOMIA BETAE AND APHIS FABAE. OWING TO COMPETITION WITHIN THE CROP CANOPY, 4.25 8.61 AND 8.53% SUBDEVELOPED PLANTS WAS FOUND AT HARVEST IN TREATMENT 1, 2 AND 3, RESPECTIVELY.. HARVEST OF THE NET PLOTS WAS STARTED ON 10.10.1986 AND WAS COMPLETED ON 13.11.1986.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE:
NINE CULTIVARS WERE GROWN IN THE EXPERIMENTAL FIELD. OWING TO SEVERAL FACTORS IN COMBINATION WITH A VERY COLD AND RAINY WEATHER DURING THE EARLY SPRING, THE GROWTH WAS EXTRAORDINARY SLOW.THE MOST RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF PLANTS WAS OBSERVED IN THE EARLY CULTIVAR URODNY. FERTILIZERS (47 KG/HA P AND 472 KG/HA K) WERE APPLIED UNDER PREPARATION OF THE BED FOR PLANTING. NITROGEN FERTILIZER (260 KG/HA N) IN THE FORM OF UREA WAS APPLIED, PLACED ALONG THE ROWS AFTER EMERGENCE. WEEDS WERE CONTROLLED EXCLUSIVELY BY THE USE OF ROTTARY CULTIVATOR DURING THE PERIOD FROM 25.5 TO 28.6.1986. THE TOPS OF ALL CULTIVARS AND TUBERS OF THE EARLY CULTIVAR WERE HARVESTED FOR DETERMINATION OF THE YIELDS ON 14.11.1986. TUBERS OF THE LATE CULTIVARS WILL BE HARVESTED IN SPRING 1987.

RHUBARB:
A PART OF THE EXPERIMENTAL PLOTS WAS ESTABLISHED BY PLANTING OF HEAD CUTTINGS (4.4-6.4.1986). THE EMERGENCE OF SHOOTS WAS RAPID, BUT THE FORMATION OF ROOTS WAS EXTREMELY SLOW NAMELY IN THE CULTIVAR ELMFURTHER. DIRECT SOWING OF SEEDS IN FIELD (4.4.1986) WAS NOT MET WITH SUCCESS. THE PREGROWN SEEDLINGS AT THE STAGE OF 4 LEAVES WERE TRANSPLANTED ON 5.7.1986. ACCORDING TO THE MODIFIED PLAN, SUPPLEMENTARY PLOTS WERE PREPARED IN SUMMER FOR DIRECT SOWING AND FOR TRANSPLANTING OF PREGROWN SEEDLINGS IN THE EARLY AUTUMN. MANURING (90 T/HA OF SOLID CATTLE MANURE) WAS APPLIED (18.7.1986). THE PREGROWN SEEDLINGS WERE TRANSPLANTED ON 8.8. TO 11.8.1986 AND THE SEEDS WERE SOWN ON 12.8.1986. IRRIGATION AND CORRECTION FOR LACKING PLANTS BY TRANSPLANTING OF SEEDLINGS DURING THE SUMMER WERE PROVIDED.

COMFREY:
A PART OF THE CROP WAS ESTABLISHED BY TRANSPLANTING OF HEAD CUTTINGS (9.-10.4.1986). EMERGENCE OF SHOOTS AND GROWTH OF LEAVES WAS PROMPT. AT THE STAGE OF FLOWERING (27.61986) THE CROP WAS CUTTED TO ALLOW DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG ROOTS. DIRECT SOWING OF SEEDS IN THE FIELD (4.4.1986) WAS NOT SUCCESFUL, OWING TO THE SPECIFIC WEATHER CONDITIONS (COLD AND WET SOIL). ACCORDING TO A MODIFIED PLAN OF THE EXPERIMENT, SUPPLEMENTARY PLOTS WERE ESTABLISHED BY SOWING (23.5.1986). CORRECTION FOR LACKING PLANTS BY TRANSPLANTING OF SEEDLINGS AND PERIODICAL IRRIGATION HAVE BEEN MADE REPEATEDLY DURING THE SUMMER.

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Régimen de financiación

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinador

THE ROYAL VETERINARY AND AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
Aportación de la UE
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Dirección
13,Buelowsvej 17
1870 FREDERISKSBERG
Dinamarca

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Participantes (1)