Ligno-Cellulose Quality and Calorific Value of Elymus elongatus L. and the Novel Secale cereanum Tested Under Central European Conditions

Abstract

Abstract The objective of the paper is to determine ligno-cellulose quality and calorific value of tall wheatgrass Szarvasi-1 and Alkar, as well as perennial rye Kriszta and Gergő cultivars, tested within a huge pilot field experiment. The experiment was established in the autumn of 2016 and was carried out until 2020, while four trial sites with marginal soil and three nutrition treatments (intensive, semi-intensive and untreated control) were included as well. The impact of the nutrition, years, sites, and cultivars on quality was statistically evaluated as the main effects, with two complete data set points of acid-detergent fibre (ADF), acid-detergent lignin (ADL), crude cellulose (CE), hemicellulose (HEM), neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) and high heating value (HHV), primarily in terms of quality content and a secondarily in terms of quality yield. In terms of quality content, the impact decreased in alternating order: of sites, years, and cultivars, each of them over the least important nutrition, while in terms of quality yield nutrition has been confirmed as the most important factor followed by sites, then by years, and finally by cultivars with the least impact. Average ADF content according to cultivars sequence Szarvasi-1 – Alkar – Kriszta – Gergő was 45.95 – 45.65 – 42.25 – 42.97%, ADL 8.67 – 8.24 – 8.51 – 8.37%, CE 37.27 – 37.41 – 33.74 – 34.60%, HEM 24.14 – 24.78 – 25.46 – 25.00%, NDF 70.03 – 70.43 – 67.71 – 67.71% and HHV 16.86 – 16.89 – 17.21 – 17.17 MJ/kg, respectively. The maximum yield values of ADF yield according to the order were 6.373 – 6.180 – 6.112 – 4.983 t/ha, ADL 1.340 – 1.374 – 1.261 – 1.027 t/ha, CE 5.253 – 5.111 – 4.851 – 3.997 t/ha, HEM 3.000 – 3.097 – 3.052 – 2.655 t/ha, NDF 9.285 – 9.133 – 9.164 – 7.626 t/ha and HHV 225.3 – 221.1 – 228.9 – 185.7 GJ/ha, respectively.