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Agronomy
Special Issues
Plant Biomass Production and Utilization
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Plant Biomass Production and Utilization

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Innovative Cropping Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2025) | Viewed by 7442

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Ralf Pude

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, 53359 Rheinbach, Germany
Interests: biomass plants; biobased products; cascade utilisation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to rising energy prices observed worldwide, biomass plants will play an even greater role as energy crops or as a raw material substitute for petroleum-based products in the future. In addition to the possibility of reducing fossil CO2 emissions or encapsulating CO2 in long-lasting biobased products, other sustainability goals must also be considered. In this context, it is advisable to approach the topic from the perspective of the plant as well as the product by the most interdisciplinary means possible. It is very difficult to overcome this challenge, because farmers only cultivate biomass plants when their sales are assured. On the other hand, companies only begin production when cultivation is assured. Due to the limited amount of arable land available, environmentally and site-appropriate cultivation, e.g., on marginal land, must be carefully considered. In this respect, innovative approaches such as the cascade use of valuable raw material plants, in which energy use only represents the very end of the utilisation cascade, could also offer potential solutions.

The aim of this Special Issue is to identify such alternative, transdisciplinary approaches aiming to enable the innovative and sustainable cultivation of biomass plants in the future.

Prof. Dr. Ralf Pude
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmentally and site-appropriate cultivation
  • plant biomass
  • agronomy
  • material science
  • cascade utilisation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1545 KiB  
Article
Cultivation Practices Affect Biomass Yield and Quality of “Felina 32”, an Industrial Hemp Variety
by Kyriakos D. Giannoulis, Dimitrios Bartzialis, Ippolitos Gintsioudis and Nicholaos G. Danalatos
Agronomy 2024, 14(11), 2743; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14112743 - 20 Nov 2024
Viewed by 903
Abstract
Hemp is a multipurpose crop that produces high amounts of lignocellulosic biomass. There are few studies dealing with hemp’s biomass production (lignocellulosic and fiber) under cropping strategies such as irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess [...] Read more.
Hemp is a multipurpose crop that produces high amounts of lignocellulosic biomass. There are few studies dealing with hemp’s biomass production (lignocellulosic and fiber) under cropping strategies such as irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess the effect of irrigation and N-fertilization on the lignocellulosic biomass of one of the most well-known industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) varieties worldwide (Felina 32) under a typical Mediterranean climate. For the purposes of this study, a field experiment was conducted in central Greece (Thessaly region) over the cultivating years 2022 and 2023. We determined the produced biomass dry yield and the dry biomass yield vs. N-uptake relation, as well as quality characteristics for hemp (cv. Felina 32) under three irrigation (I1: 33%, I2: 66%, and I3: 100% ETo) and three N-fertilization levels (N1: 0, N2: 70, and N3: 140 kg ha−1). A significant difference in the dry biomass yield was found, ranging between 10–11.2 t ha−1 using I2 and/or I3 irrigation levels and remaining at 8.6 t ha−1 with lower irrigation (I1). In terms of fertilization factor, it appeared that in samplings where statistically significant changes were observed, all degrees of fertilization differed from one another, with the N3 treatment exhibiting the highest production (11.4 t ha−1). The average protein content varied between 10% in 2023 and 14% in 2023. A linear biomass yield–nutrient uptake relationship was found with high R2, pointing to a nitrogen use efficiency of 55.15 kg kg−1. Thus, it would seem that nitrogen fertilization and irrigation are both crucial factors of industrial hemp cultivation, helping to raise the crop’s overall yield of lignocellulosic biomass. The introduction of hemp into land-use systems necessitates thorough evaluation, as hemp shows considerable potential as a crop that can yield substantial quantities of above-ground biomass (lignocellulosic: stems and fibers). This is especially true in regions where irrigation is possible, and the application of nitrogen fertilizers can further enhance these yields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Biomass Production and Utilization)
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20 pages, 6788 KiB  
Article
Organic Acid-Based Hemicellulose Fractionation and Cellulosic Ethanol Potential of Five Miscanthus Genotypes
by Yasir Iqbal, Yu Dai, Shuai Xue, Zili Yi, Zhiyong Chen, Meng Li and Moritz von Cossel
Agronomy 2024, 14(7), 1389; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14071389 - 27 Jun 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 978
Abstract
The pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass such as Miscanthus grown on marginal agricultural land is very challenging and requires severe conditions to fractionate cell wall polymers for further valorization. The current study aimed to determine organic acid-based mild conditions to pretreat contrasting lignocellulosic Miscanthus [...] Read more.
The pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass such as Miscanthus grown on marginal agricultural land is very challenging and requires severe conditions to fractionate cell wall polymers for further valorization. The current study aimed to determine organic acid-based mild conditions to pretreat contrasting lignocellulosic Miscanthus genotypes for the efficient fractionation of cell wall components, with special focus on hemicellulose extraction. In doing so, five Miscanthus genotypes were subjected to four different acid treatments (sulfuric acid, oxalic acid, malonic acid, and citric acid) in a vertical high-pressure steam sterilizer. The results demonstrated that, among the organic acids, oxalic acid was identified as the most effective pretreatment solvent for hemicellulose separation, whereas citric acid yielded the highest amount of galacturonic acid, varying from 15 to 17 mg mL−1 across genotypes. One best performing genotype was selected for the enzymatic hydrolysis. Overall, M. floridulus genotypes exhibited the optimal quality traits for efficient bioconversion with second best in terms of ethanol production potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Biomass Production and Utilization)
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29 pages, 6214 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Intra- and Interspecific Development of Different Accessions of Silphium perfoliatum L. and Silphium integrifolium Michx.
by Martin Greve, Christoph Anton Conrad Korte, Johanna Entrup, Hanna Altrogge, Philip Bischoff, Julian Elfers, Christian Wever and Ralf Pude
Agronomy 2023, 13(6), 1601; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061601 - 13 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1995
Abstract
For higher sustainability in biomass production the use of new perennial species can lead to sustainable progress in the energy production and manufacturing industry. During the last decades, two different species of Silphium were discussed for biomass production. However, some questions regarding their [...] Read more.
For higher sustainability in biomass production the use of new perennial species can lead to sustainable progress in the energy production and manufacturing industry. During the last decades, two different species of Silphium were discussed for biomass production. However, some questions regarding their cultivation and different uses are still to be answered. In this study, two accessions of Silphium perfoliatum L. and Silphium integrifolium Michx. were investigated during the year of establishment, and the first generative year for the phenotypic characteristics and suitability for cultivation, under Central European field conditions. Intra- and interspecific comparisons were made with special attention to their growth kinetics. While cup plant (S. perfoliatum) is well known as a potential biomass crop in Europe, silflower (S. integrifolium) is still unknown. In intraspecific comparison, S. integrifolium shows a more uniform development than S perfoliatum. In parallel, the development of S. perfoliatum accessions is temporally shifted, so that the S. perfoliatum accessions differ in the length of their phases of generative growth and onset of senescence in comparison to S. integrifolium. To make these results applicable, an improvement proposal was made to the existing BBCH scale for S. perfoliatum. In addition, an adaptation was conducted on S. integrifolium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Biomass Production and Utilization)
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23 pages, 2356 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Energy–Economy and Environmental Performance of Perennial Crops in Terms of Biogas Production
by Rita Bužinskienė, Astrida Miceikienė, Kęstutis Venslauskas and Kęstutis Navickas
Agronomy 2023, 13(5), 1291; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13051291 - 30 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2710
Abstract
Biogas production plays an important role in the clean energy economy and is reducing the problems of the energy crisis. The main objective of the current study is to analyze environmental performance by using perennial energy crops in the agricultural sector. Perennial energy [...] Read more.
Biogas production plays an important role in the clean energy economy and is reducing the problems of the energy crisis. The main objective of the current study is to analyze environmental performance by using perennial energy crops in the agricultural sector. Perennial energy crops are neutral for carbon and can be used for electricity and heating, which may mitigate climate change as well. The purpose of this work was to investigate and compare the energy–economy effectiveness and environmental performance of the suitability of four perennial crops for biogas production. Environmental performance was analyzed using the method of the life cycle assessment. To identify the most environmentally sustainable perennial crops for biogas production, a comparative analysis was conducted on four different crops: Lucerne, Miscanthus, Switchgrass, and Reed canary grass. The results of the analysis showed that Lucerne and Miscanthus, during the first–sixth years period, have lower indirect energy input (from 15.2 to 3.2 GJ/ha and 15.6 to 3.2 GJ/ha) than Switchgrass (from 20.9 to 3.2 GJ/ha) and Reed canary grass (from 16.7 to 3.2 GJ/ha). However, the highest direct energy input was determined by Lucerne (from 15.7 to 1.6 GJ/ha), and Miscanthus (from 11.9 to 0.9 GJ/ha) compared to Switchgrass (from 7.4 to 1.8 GJ/ha) and Reed canary grass (from 8.1 to 1.6 GJ/ha). Additionally, the lowest result of the direct economy and indirect economy costs was determined by Lucerne (from 3.9 to 3.7 kEUR/ha (direct) and 9.9 to 2.1 kEUR/ha (indirect)) and by Miscanthus (from 2.4 to 4.9 kEUR/ha (direct) and 11.8 to 1.9 kEUR/ha (indirect)) compared to Switchgrass (5.9 to 5.7 kEUR/ha (direct) and 17.5 to 2.1 kEUR/ha (indirect)), and reed canary grass (from 5.3 to 4.9 kEUR/ha (direct) and 13.7 to 1.9 kEUR/ha (indirect), respectively. The assessment of environmental performance revealed that Reed canary grass and Miscanthus had a more pronounced impact on Acidification. In contrast, Lucerne and Switchgrass had a more significant impact on Eutrophication indicators. The crop cultivation of four perennial crops impacted the environment in various significant ways. Despite the varying environmental impacts of the four perennial crops, the analysis revealed that all of them have the potential to increase biogas production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Biomass Production and Utilization)
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