Grassland Science最新文献

{"title":"Analysis of the maternal genome of Elymus nutans from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau based on chloroplast genomes","authors":"Ruijuan Liu,&nbsp;Mingze Xia,&nbsp;Demei Liu,&nbsp;Liling Jiang,&nbsp;Jicheng Shen,&nbsp;Wenjie Chen","doi":"10.1111/grs.12344","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12344","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Elymus nutans</i> is an important forage and ecological restoration herbage in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is an allohexaploid species with the <b>StStYYHH</b> genomes. Previous studies suggested that <i>Pseudoroegneria</i> is the maternal genome donor to <i>E. nutans</i>, but exactly which <i>Pseudoroegneria</i> species is still unknown. Here, we report the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of two <i>E. nutans</i> from the Qinghai-Tibet and five <i>Pseudoroegneria</i> species. The cp genomes of the seven samples ranged narrowly from 134,924 bp to 135,142 bp in size, comprising inverted repeats of 20,808–20,814 bp, single-copy regions of 80,536–80,754 bp (LSC) and 12,762–12,772 bp (SSC). It encoded 111 total genes, of which 78 protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. A comparative cp genome analysis and characteristic junctions of <b>St</b>-containing species revealed that the gene content and organization were conserved, but differences were still found in sequence variation and border regions. Further, the Bayesian inference (BI) phylogenetic tree using the whole chloroplast genome sequence demonstrated that <i>P. cognata</i> might be the most likely <b>St</b> genome donor of <i>E. nutans</i> in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, followed by <i>P. strigosa</i>. However, whether <i>E. nutans</i> has other maternal genomes still needs further research.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"68 2","pages":"114-123"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12344","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46208701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of applying different additives on the fermentation characteristics and aerobic stability of total mixed ration silage prepared with local feed resources in Tibet","authors":"Zhihao Dong,&nbsp;Xuxiong Tao,&nbsp;Yuhong Bao,&nbsp;Jie Zhao,&nbsp;Siran Wang,&nbsp;Junfeng Li,&nbsp;Qinhua Liu,&nbsp;Tao Shao","doi":"10.1111/grs.12342","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12342","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study was conducted to assess the effect of different additives on the fermentation characteristics, in vitro digestibility and aerobic stability of fermented total mixed ration (FTMR) prepared with local feed resources in Tibet, China. Additives added to FTMR were <i>Lactobacillus buchneri</i> (1 × 10⁶ cfu/g fresh weight (FW)), acetic acid (0.3% FW), propionic acid (0.4% FW), 1,2-propanediol and 1-propanol (0.5% FW). FTMR were opened after 90 days and subjected to a 14-d aerobic stability test. The results showed that <i>L. buchneri</i>, 1,2-propanediol and 1-propanol increased (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) pH values and acetic acid concentrations and decreased (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) lactic acid concentrations in FTMR. Adding acetic acid decreased (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) lactic/acetic acid ratio. FTMR treated with propionic acid had higher (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) lactic acid, propionic acid and DM recovery compared with the other treatments. Treating FTMR with acetic acid, 1,2-propanediol and 1-propanol decreased (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05) yeast counts. The in vitro potential gas production tended to be lower in <i>L. buchneri</i>-treated silage than other silages. During aerobic exposure, FTMR treated with propionic acid spoiled first, with marked pH increase and lactic acid decrease from days 9 to 14. Treatment with <i>L. buchneri</i>, acetic acid, 1,2-propanediol and 1-propanol markedly improved the aerobic stability, as indicated by nearly unchanged pH and lactic acid concentrations. The results suggest that <i>L. buchneri</i>, acetic acid, 1,2-propanediol and 1-propanol did not adversely affect the in vitro digestibility and could be effective additives for enhancing the aerobic stability of FTMR prepared on Tibetan plateau.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"68 1","pages":"78-87"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12342","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43193496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Common response of dominant plants in typical grassland of Inner Mongolia to long-term overgrazing revealed by transcriptome analysis","authors":"Dongli Wan,&nbsp;Yongqing Wan,&nbsp;Weibo Ren,&nbsp;Linqing Yu,&nbsp;Yong Ding,&nbsp;Guojing Li,&nbsp;Fang Li,&nbsp;Xiangyang Hou","doi":"10.1111/grs.12326","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12326","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Leymus chinensis</i> (Trin.) Tzvel. and <i>Stipa grandis</i> P. Smirn. are dominant species in grassland on the typical steppe of Inner Mongolia. Long-term overgrazing, which is considered to represent multiple stresses, reduces the growth of <i>L. chinensis</i> and <i>S. grandis</i>. To gain an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the responses of these plants to overgrazing, we explored the gene expression profiles of <i>L. chinensis</i> and <i>S. grandis</i> to discover the common features of these dominant plants in response to overgrazing. Using the Illumina RNA-Seq platform, two sequencing libraries prepared from non-grazed (Lc-NG) and overgrazed samples (Lc-OG) of <i>L. chinensis</i> were sequenced. Using Trinity software assembly, 129,087 unigenes with a mean length of 693 bp and an N50 of 1,093 bp were obtained by combining the Lc-NG and Lc-OG data. By comparing differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of <i>L. chinensis</i> with those of <i>S. grandis</i>, we identified 16 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways and 15 Gene Ontology terms that were significantly enriched with DEGs in both species. Most of these DEG-enriched pathways, for example, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and flavonoid biosynthesis, were related to stress responses. The results suggest that stress plays an important role in plants’ responsiveness to long-term overgrazing and associated reductions in plant growth. The DEGs shared by these two species will be valuable for further research on key genes and molecular mechanisms involved in plants’ adaptation to overgrazing and associated stresses.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"67 4","pages":"352-368"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12326","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43987471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"DNA marker analysis of flowering time, semi-dwarf, fertility restorer, and brown midrib genes in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench)","authors":"Hiroyuki Kawahigashi,&nbsp;Jun-ichi Yonemaru,&nbsp;Atsushi Kiyosawa,&nbsp;Hiroshi Mizuno,&nbsp;Sigemitsu Kasuga","doi":"10.1111/grs.12343","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12343","url":null,"abstract":"<p>DNA markers for the genes for flowering time (<i>Ma1</i>/<i>SbPRR37</i>, <i>Ma2</i>/<i>SbEHD1</i>, <i>Ma3</i>/<i>SbPhyB</i>, <i>Ma4</i>/<i>SbCO</i>, <i>Ma5</i>/<i>SbPhyC</i>, and <i>Ma6</i>/<i>SbGHD7</i>), semi-dwarfism (<i>dw1</i> and <i>dw2</i>), fertility restorers (<i>Rf1</i>, <i>Rf2</i>, <i>Rf5</i>, and partial A1 mitochondrial sequence) and cytoplasmic–nuclear male sterile (CMS), and brown midrib (<i>bmr-2</i>, <i>bmr-6</i>, and <i>bmr-18</i>) were developed in this study. These markers and previously published DNA markers for <i>dw3</i> were used to analyze sorghum cultivars used in breeding programs in Japan and traditional landraces from the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences (NIAS) sorghum core collection. Agronomically useful mutations were effectively detected in the cultivars by the DNA markers. Most of the mutation types for flowering and semi-dwarfism were detected in sorghum cultivars, but only the dominant-type allele of <i>SbEHD1</i> and <i>SbPhyB</i> for flowering was detected in the NIAS collection. Fertility restorers and CMS were rarely detected in NIAS collection. Agronomically useful traits such as early flowering and semi-dwarfism became combined in the modern cultivars by phenotypic evaluation for the adaptation of harvesting to the temperate zones. Fertility restorers and CMS were introduced for F₁ hybrid breeding. These phenotypes are often recessive, so information on the alleles responsible would be helpful for sorghum breeding. We expect these DNA markers to facilitate and improve the efficiency of F₁ sorghum breeding programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"68 2","pages":"101-113"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12343","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45539261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Economic potential of milk production strategies with restrictive use of concentrated feed—An experiment on 36 family farms in the pre-alpine region","authors":"Christian Gazzarin,&nbsp;Bruno Häller,&nbsp;Pius Hofstetter","doi":"10.1111/grs.12325","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12325","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The objective of this study was to quantify the economic potential of grass-based milk production strategies with limited use of concentrated feed in the pre-alpine region. We monitored 36 family dairy farms from the pre-alpine region of Switzerland divided in three study groups following one of three defined, voluntarily adopted production strategies: Partial grazing and barn feeding with freshly cut forages, supplementing &lt;500 kg (GBF) and 1,200 kg (GBFplus) of concentrated feed, respectively, and practicing full grazing (FG), supplementing &lt;100 kg of concentrated feed per cow per year. For three years (2014–2016), data were collected on the farms, and experience and ideas were exchanged and evaluated in a participatory process together with local extension services and researchers. Economic success indicators such as cost price and return to labor from each study group were compared with structurally similar control groups derived from the Swiss Farm Accountancy Data Network after completing an interactive standardization process, which largely balanced farm-specific features in the study groups. Compared with the control groups, the cost price (Swiss francs [CHF] per 100 kg milk) of GBF, GBFplus, and FG was significantly reduced by 20%, 20%, and 26%, respectively. Return to labor (CHF per hour) was significantly higher than in the control group for GBF (20.60 versus. 13.80), GBFplus (19.70 versus. 10.20), and FG (29.30 versus. 19.20). The comparison between the study groups also showed that lower milk revenues due to a lower use of concentrate could be economically compensated by a better input efficiency. A consistent implementation of the production strategy as well as personal qualities in terms of cost management seems to play a decisive role.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"67 4","pages":"343-351"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12325","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46064442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of grassland converted to cropland on soil microbial biomass and community from agro-pastoral ecotone in Northern China","authors":"Shi-ming Tang,&nbsp;Shu-cheng Li,&nbsp;Zhen Wang,&nbsp;Yu-juan Zhang,&nbsp;Kun Wang","doi":"10.1111/grs.12331","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12331","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Grassland converted to cropland affected soil physical and chemical properties and soil microbes. However, these parameters were often studied separately and their combined responses to grassland reclaim remain unclear. To evaluate the impacts of grassland cultivation on soil microbial communities (based on phospholipid fatty acids, PLFAs) and the links between soil microbes and physicochemical properties, we performed a paired field experiment following the conversion from native grasslands to 30- to 60-year-old cropland in the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China. The concentrations of soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil total nitrogen (STN) and the soil microbial biomass consistently decreased with grassland conversion to cropland. Grassland conversion also significantly decreased the relative abundance of bacterial and fungal PLFAs and the fungal to bacterial ratio (F:B) at 0–10 cm soil layer, but those parameters remained unchanged below 10 cm soil layers. Grassland conversion affected the microbial biomass mainly through soil C and N content rather than soil pH, moisture and aggregation. These findings revealed that cultivation-induced soil nutrient loss may enhance soil microbe depletion and affect microbial community assembly (shifts in fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), actinomycete (Act), gram-positive (GP) and gram-negative (GN) bacteria). This implies that conversion of grassland to cropland should be avoided because of the risk of degradation of soil nutrient and microbes.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"68 1","pages":"36-43"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12331","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48191266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intermittent stocking strategies for the management of Marandu palisade grass in the Brazilian Cerrado biome","authors":"Lawrene Eduardo Antunes,&nbsp;Denise Baptaglin Montagner,&nbsp;Valéria Pacheco Batista Euclides,&nbsp;Carolina de Arruda Queiróz Taira,&nbsp;Joilson Roda Echeverria,&nbsp;Nayana Nazareth Nantes,&nbsp;Marco Antonio Previdelli Orrico Junior","doi":"10.1111/grs.12341","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12341","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of pre- and post-grazing targets on the forage accumulation and canopy characteristics of Marandu palisade grass (<i>Brachiaria brizantha</i> [Hochst. ex A. Rich.] Stapf. syn. <i>Urochloa brizantha</i>) to define grazing management strategies in Brazil's Cerrado biome. The experimental design comprised a randomized complete block with four replicates in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments: two grazing frequencies (95% of light interception (LI95%) and maximum (LIMax) light interception of the forage canopy) and two grazing intensities (10 and 15 cm of post-grazing canopy height). Pastures were sampled to quantify forage mass and morphological components at pre- and post-grazing. The tillers population density and forage nutritive value were estimated at pre-grazing. Pastures managed with the LI95% target demonstrated greater basal (1,341 versus 1,193 tillers/m²) and aerial tillers (101 versus 53 tillers/m²) population densities, a greater leaf:stem ratio (3.8 versus 2.0), and a lower canopy height (33 versus 55 cm), forage mass (3,225 versus 4,320 kg/ha), stem proportion (30.6% versus 44.5%), and leaf (2.5% versus 2.8%) and stem (3.4% versus 3.8%) acid detergent lignin content than those managed with the LIMax target. In the Cerrado, Marandu palisade grass must be grazed when the canopy height reaches 33 cm. Furthermore, animals must be removed from the paddocks when the canopy height reaches 15 cm.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"68 1","pages":"70-77"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12341","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49398514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes of photosynthetic pigments and phytol content at different levels of nitrogen fertilizer in Italian ryegrass fresh herbage and hay","authors":"Renlong Lv,&nbsp;Mabrouk Elsabagh,&nbsp;Taketo Obitsu,&nbsp;Toshihisa Sugino,&nbsp;Yuzo Kurokawa,&nbsp;Kensuke Kawamura","doi":"10.1111/grs.12335","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12335","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The content of photosynthetic pigments in herbage not only has a strong antioxidant function, but also can improve the health of animals and the quality of livestock products after being ingested by ruminants. Increasing the content of photosynthetic pigments can improve the feed value of herbage, which is of great significance in the process of animal feeding. The experiment aimed to investigate the effect of nitrogen (N) fertilizer levels on the contents of photosynthetic pigments and phytol in fresh Italian ryegrass (IR) herbages and their changes after drying under natural condition over two consecutive seasons. IR variety: Ace (for 2013–2014 season) and Inazuma (for 2015–2016 season) were planted in 3 blocks (4 × 6 m) from two separate fields (≥1 ha), three plots (2 × 2 m) were arranged in each block and three fertilization treatments, control: 0 kg N/ha, 60 N: 60 kg N/ha, and 120 N: 120 kg N/ha, were applied for each block. The results revealed that the crude protein, ether extract, photosynthetic pigments and phytol in IR (fresh herbage and hay) were increased with increasing N fertilizer levels. Photosynthetic pigments decreased obviously by hay preparation (chlorophylls: 40%–70%, phytol: 25%–47%, <i>β</i>-carotene: 72%–90%, lutein: 31%–69%). The decomposition of phytol and <i>β</i>-carotene was not affected by the growing year and N fertilizer levels. However, the decomposition of chlorophyll and lutein was affected by growing year, which was higher in 2014 than that in 2016. Also, the contents of total phytol and lutein of the fresh herbage and hay harvested in 2016 were higher (<i>p</i> &lt; .05) than those harvested in 2014. In conclusion, higher N fertilizer levels could increase the photosynthetic pigments and phytol content in IR fresh herbage which contributes to improving the feed value. However, the content of photosynthetic pigments and phytol in IR hay decreased significantly. IR variety may also affect the nutrient content and their degree of decomposition during drying.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"68 1","pages":"53-59"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12335","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44145379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Production of dallisgrass in response to NPK fertilizer in southwest China and its implications for cultivation","authors":"Leiting Wang,&nbsp;Leilei Ding,&nbsp;Puchang Wang,&nbsp;Lili Zhao,&nbsp;Qingqing Yu","doi":"10.1111/grs.12315","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12315","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Dallisgrass (<i>Paspalum dilatatum</i> Poir.), a warm-season forage, is a perennial grass with high nutritional value, good palatability and high-stress resistance in subtropical regions worldwide. However, very limited information is available on the cultivation of dallisgrass, especially in southwest China. Soils in different areas with pasture cultivation histories were collected and mixed evenly as substrate soil. Pot experiments after fertilization with nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are used to analyze the dallisgrass growth characteristics, dry matter biomass (DM), photosynthetic characteristics, nutrient accumulation, agronomic efficiency (AE), partial factor productivity (PFP) and recovery efficiency (RE). A three-factor (N, P, K) and five-level (N: 0, 48.66, 120, 191.34 and 240 kg/ha; P: 0, 68.93, 170, 271.07 and 340 kg/ha; K: 0, 30.41, 75, 119.59 and 150 kg/ha) quadratic regression orthogonal rotation combination design was used with three experimental plots per management strategy for multiple comparisons within each harvest. Compared with no fertilization, the optimal treatment (OPT, N 48.66 kg/ha, P 68.93 kg/ha, K 119.59 kg/ha) increased yield by 46.3%, but the effect of NPK alone was not significant. This is because OPT improves the morphology and photosynthetic characteristics of dallisgrass, cause the dry matter during the growth period is significantly (<i>p</i> &lt; .05) increased, and the average nutrient use efficiency (7.45%) under the OPT management measures was much higher than the under N, P and K fertilization alone (approximately 2.61 times). More meaningfully, we found that the demand for P and K fertilizer in dallisgrass in a typical subtropical mountainous region of China is higher than that for N. Overall, these findings have important implications for the cultivation of dallisgrass.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"67 4","pages":"285-298"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12315","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47012979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chemical composition and calorific value of elephant grass varieties and other feedstocks intended for direct combustion","authors":"Anderson Carlos Marafon,&nbsp;André Felipe Câmara Amaral,&nbsp;Juarez Campolina Machado,&nbsp;Jailton da Costa Carneiro,&nbsp;Adriana Neutzling Bierhals,&nbsp;Victor dos Santos Guimarães","doi":"10.1111/grs.12311","DOIUrl":"10.1111/grs.12311","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Perennial grasses display several positive attributes as suitable energy crops for use as a solid fuel for direct combustion, such as high annual production of dry matter per unit area, perennity and high harvest flexibility. This study aimed to characterize the chemical composition and calorific value of 18 elephant grass (EG) varieties (<i>Pennisetum purpureum</i> Schum.) and 10 other potential bioenergy feedstocks intended for direct combustion. Samples were obtained from 6-month-old EG and sorghum and 3-year-old eucalyptus, <i>Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia</i>, and bamboo plants. Sugarcane bagasse and straw, rice husk, corn stover, coconut husk, and fiber samples were also evaluated. The elemental composition, lower heating value (LHV), and cellulose (CEL), hemicellulose (HCEL), lignin (LIG) and ash contents (% dry matter) were analyzed. The results indicated that the EG genotypes showed significant differences when compared with other evaluated biomasses, but showed no differences among themselves. The EG varieties showed a mean LHV (16.7 MJ/kg) superior to that of rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, and sorghum and similar to that of sugarcane straw, coconut fiber, and corn stover. The EG varieties showed a mean ash content (4.74%) inferior to that of rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, coconut fiber, and sorghum; a mean CEL content (36.0%) similar to that of sugarcane straw, coconut fiber, corn stover, sorghum, and <i>Mimosa caesalpinifolia</i>; HCEL; a mean HCEL content (30.3%) superior to that of rice husk, bamboo, eucalyptus, <i>M. caesalpinifolia</i>, coconut husk, and fiber; and a mean LIG content (8.80%) superior to that of corn stover and similar to that of sorghum, sugarcane bagasse, and straw biomass. The significant capacity of EG to accumulate dry matter was associated with the biomass quality attributes (LHV and CEL, HCEL, LIG, and ash contents), thereby making it an excellent alternative to lignocellulosic feedstock for direct combustion.</p>","PeriodicalId":56078,"journal":{"name":"Grassland Science","volume":"67 3","pages":"241-249"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2021-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1111/grs.12311","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42392189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}