U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Soil Management Research: Morris, MN
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                                    Software
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area Morris, Minnesota Soil Management Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Johnson, Janeitem
                                            Wilhelm, Wallaceitem
                                            Karlen, Douglasitem
                                            Archer, Daviditem
                                            Wienhold, Brianitem
                                            LIGHTLE, DAVID - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)item
                                            Laird, Daviditem
                                            Baker, Johnitem
                                            OCHSNER, TYSON - Oklahoma State Universityitem
                                            Novak, Jeffreyitem
                                            Halvorson, Ardellitem
                                            Arriaga, Franciscoitem
                                            Barbour, Nancy
  Submitted to: BioEnergy Research
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 3/23/2010
                                    Publication  Date: 10/1/2010
                                    Citation: Johnson, J.M., Wilhelm, W.W., Karlen, D.L., Archer, D.W., Wienhold, B.J., Lightle, D.T., Laird, D.A., Baker, J.M., Ochsner, T.E., Novak, J.M., Halvorson, A.D., Arriaga, F.J., Barbour, N.W. 2010. Nutrient removal as a function of corn stover cutting height and cob harvest. BioEnergy Research. 3:342-352.Interpretive Summary: Corn stover, leaves, stems and cobs that remain after the grain is harvested have the potential to be used as a feedstock for bioenergy production. More plant nutrients are removed from a field when stover is harvested compared to harvesting only grain. Therefore, harvesting stover may change fertilizer requirements for corn production. Some elements such as chloride and potassium, found in corn stover, can cause problems when processing corn stover for bioenergy. We reported the nutrient concentrations in stover at various heights above the ground. We calculated the amount of each element that would be removed from the field depending on cutting height or if only cobs were harvested. We found that corn cobs have more carbon and less of other elements compared to stover (without the cobs) above and below the grain-containing ear. We estimated that the fertilizer cost to replace nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium removed when harvesting cobs only would be about half as much as the fertilizer cost to replace nutrients if all of the stover (including the cobs) were harvested above the ear. In general, harvesting cobs plus stover from the ear upward at grain harvest provided a higher quality feedstock with less total nutrient removal than harvesting the whole plant. Impact: This information is beneficial to people in the bioenergy industry who are interested in feedstock quality of corn stover to be used for fermentation or thermochemical energy conversion. It is also useful for producers, agronomists, and crop consultants trying to balance soil fertility when nutrients are removed with harvested stover. The information will also help to ensure the sustainability of the fledging biofuel industry in the United States and elsewhere.
                                Technical Abstract: One-pass harvest equipment has been developed to collect corn (Zea mays L.) grain, stover, and cobs: three plant components that can be used as bioenergy feedstock. Nutrients removed in these feedstocks have soil fertility implications and affect feedstock quality. The study objectives were to quantify nutrient concentrations and potential removal as a function of vertical cutting height, plant organ, and physiological growth stage. Plant samples were collected in 10-cm increments, at seven diverse geographic locations, at two maturities, and analyzed for various elements. Nutrient concentration at harvest averaged 5.0 ± 0.3 N g kg-1, 0.42 ± 0.06 P g kg-1, and 6.8 ± 0.77 g K g kg-1 in cobs, 7.1 ± 0.41 N g kg-1, 0.98 ± 0.22 P g kg-1 and 9.2 ± 1.12 K g kg-1 in the stover above the ear and 6.4 ± 0.25 N g kg-1, 0.80 ± 0.17 P g kg-1 and 11.8 ± 1.51 K g kg-1 in stover below the ear (stover segments exclude cobs). On average, the cost to replace N, P and K was about $5.60 Mg-1 cob harvested, $11.90 Mg-1 in stover above the ear (excluding cobs) and $30.60 Mg-1 all stover including cobs. Collecting cobs or cobs plus stover from the ear upward provided a higher quality feedstock with less total nutrient removal than harvesting the whole plant. This information will enable producers to balance soil fertility by adjusting fertilizer rates and to sustain soil quality by predicting C removal for different harvest scenarios. It also provides elemental information to the bioenergy industry.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov