Influence of Sowing Times, Densities, and Soils to Biomass and Ethanol Yield of Sweet Sorghum

Tran Dang Xuan, Nguyen Thi Phuong, Do Tan Khang and Tran Dang Khanh
Additional contact information
Tran Dang Xuan: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 739-8529, Japan
Nguyen Thi Phuong: Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Science (VAAS), Ha Noi, Vietnam
Do Tan Khang: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 739-8529, Japan
Tran Dang Khanh: Agricultural Genetics Institute (AGI), Hanoi, Vietnam

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 9, 1-22

Abstract: The use of biofuels helps to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels and therefore decreases CO 2 emission. Ethanol mixed with gasoline in mandatory percentages has been used in many countries. However, production of ethanol mainly depends on food crops, commonly associated with problems such as governmental policies and social controversies. Sweet sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is one of the most potential and appropriate alternative crops for biofuel production because of its high biomass and sugar content, strong tolerance to environmental stress conditions and diseases, and wide adaptability to various soils and climates. The aim of this study was to select prospective varieties of sweet sorghum, optimum sowing times and densities to achieve high yields of ethanol production and to establish stable operational conditions in cultivating this crop. The summer-autumn cropping season combined with the sowing densities of 8.3–10.9 plant m − 2 obtained the highest ethanol yield. Among cultivated locations, the soil with pH of 5.5 and contents of Al and Zn of 39.4 and 0.6 g kg − 1 , respectively, was the best condition to have an ethanol yield >5000 L ha − 1 . The pH ≥ 6.0 may be responsible for the significant reduction of zinc content in soils, which decreases both biomass of sweet sorghum and ethanol yield, while contents of N, P, K, organic carbon (OC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC), and Fe likely play no role. The cultivar 4A was the preferred candidate for ethanol production and resistant to pests and diseases, especially cut worm ( Agrotis spp.).

Keywords: ethanol; sweet sorghum; ethanol yield; biomass; sowing time; pests and diseases (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/9/11657/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/9/11657/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:9:p:11657-11678:d:54740

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().