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Research article2012Peer reviewed

Effect of harvesting periods on biomass yield and fuel quality of switchgrass in the Loess Plateau of China

Liu, Jili; Wu, Na; Xiong, Shaojun; Cheng, Xu; Zhu, Wanbin

Abstract

The Objective of this Experiment is to Evaluate the Variation in yield and Fuel Quality of switchgrass biomass under Different harvesting periods and to Determine Appropriate harvesting periods.Field Trials were conducted in Qingyang, Gansu Province, to Evaluate biomass yield of switchgrass and Fuel Quality under different harvesting time in order to determine the proper harvesting time.The results were as follows: 1) with the delayed harvesting period, yield of switchgrass presented downtrend, and the proportion of leaves reduced gradually.It indicated that yield loss was mainly due to leaf abscission.2) The heat value of switchgrass biomass showed a decreasing tendency as a whole, it was significantly higher at the flowering stage than other periods; delayed harvest significantly reduced moisture and ash content of switchgrass biomass; with the delayed harvesting period, cellulose and lignin content in stems and leaves increased, while hemicelluloses content decreased; undesirable components of mineral element such as K, Mg, Na, Cl were significantly reduced after switchgrass withered, and the fuel quality of switchgrass biomass improved.3) In the pattern of energy production of switchgrass, switchgrass biomass fuel quality was better when harvested at the end of growth season, after the decline of above-ground parts.

Published in

Journal- China Agricultural University
2012, Volume: 17, number: 6, pages: 138-142