Abstract
Certain warm-season vegetable crops may lend themselves to bioenergy double-cropping systems, which involve growing a winter annual bioenergy feedstock crop followed by a summer annual crop. The objective of the study was to compare crop productivity and weed communities in different pumpkin production systems, varying in tillage, cover crop, and bioenergy feedstock/pumpkin double-cropping. Using a fall-planted rye (Secale cereale)+hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) mixture as a candidate feedstock, on average 9.9Mgha-1 of dry biomass was produced prior to pumpkin planting. Pumpkin yields in the cover crop system, which involved leaving the bioenergy feedstock on the soil surface, ranged from 49% to 65% of the conventional pumpkin system. When the bioenergy feedstock was removed, pumpkin yields in the feedstock tillage system were comparable to the conventional pumpkin system. Weeds remained problematic in all cropping systems; however, cropping systems without tillage (i.e. no-tillage and feedstock no-till systems) had among the highest weed population densities in pumpkin. The feedstock tillage system reduced potentially leachable soil N in the spring, produced enough bioenergy feedstock to theoretically yield an estimated 3260liters of ethanolha-1 without negatively affecting processing pumpkin yield, and had a farmgate value comparable to, or greater than, the conventional pumpkin production system currently used by growers.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 223-227 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Industrial Crops and Products |
| Volume | 59 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 2014 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Biofuel
- Cover crop
- Farmgate value
- Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata)
- Rye (Secale cereale)
- Weed control
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agronomy and Crop Science
Cite this
A bioenergy feedstock/vegetable double-cropping system. / Williams, Martin M.
In: Industrial Crops and Products, Vol. 59, 08.2014, p. 223-227.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - A bioenergy feedstock/vegetable double-cropping system
AU - Williams, Martin M.
PY - 2014/8
Y1 - 2014/8
N2 - Certain warm-season vegetable crops may lend themselves to bioenergy double-cropping systems, which involve growing a winter annual bioenergy feedstock crop followed by a summer annual crop. The objective of the study was to compare crop productivity and weed communities in different pumpkin production systems, varying in tillage, cover crop, and bioenergy feedstock/pumpkin double-cropping. Using a fall-planted rye (Secale cereale)+hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) mixture as a candidate feedstock, on average 9.9Mgha-1 of dry biomass was produced prior to pumpkin planting. Pumpkin yields in the cover crop system, which involved leaving the bioenergy feedstock on the soil surface, ranged from 49% to 65% of the conventional pumpkin system. When the bioenergy feedstock was removed, pumpkin yields in the feedstock tillage system were comparable to the conventional pumpkin system. Weeds remained problematic in all cropping systems; however, cropping systems without tillage (i.e. no-tillage and feedstock no-till systems) had among the highest weed population densities in pumpkin. The feedstock tillage system reduced potentially leachable soil N in the spring, produced enough bioenergy feedstock to theoretically yield an estimated 3260liters of ethanolha-1 without negatively affecting processing pumpkin yield, and had a farmgate value comparable to, or greater than, the conventional pumpkin production system currently used by growers.
AB - Certain warm-season vegetable crops may lend themselves to bioenergy double-cropping systems, which involve growing a winter annual bioenergy feedstock crop followed by a summer annual crop. The objective of the study was to compare crop productivity and weed communities in different pumpkin production systems, varying in tillage, cover crop, and bioenergy feedstock/pumpkin double-cropping. Using a fall-planted rye (Secale cereale)+hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) mixture as a candidate feedstock, on average 9.9Mgha-1 of dry biomass was produced prior to pumpkin planting. Pumpkin yields in the cover crop system, which involved leaving the bioenergy feedstock on the soil surface, ranged from 49% to 65% of the conventional pumpkin system. When the bioenergy feedstock was removed, pumpkin yields in the feedstock tillage system were comparable to the conventional pumpkin system. Weeds remained problematic in all cropping systems; however, cropping systems without tillage (i.e. no-tillage and feedstock no-till systems) had among the highest weed population densities in pumpkin. The feedstock tillage system reduced potentially leachable soil N in the spring, produced enough bioenergy feedstock to theoretically yield an estimated 3260liters of ethanolha-1 without negatively affecting processing pumpkin yield, and had a farmgate value comparable to, or greater than, the conventional pumpkin production system currently used by growers.
KW - Biofuel
KW - Cover crop
KW - Farmgate value
KW - Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata)
KW - Rye (Secale cereale)
KW - Weed control
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84901936769&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84901936769&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.indcrop.2014.05.025
DO - 10.1016/j.indcrop.2014.05.025
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84901936769
VL - 59
SP - 223
EP - 227
JO - Industrial Crops and Products
JF - Industrial Crops and Products
SN - 0926-6690
ER -