Thousand Oaks, California
February 11, 2009
A new crop management guide is
available for producers interested in learning more about
growing switchgrass as a non-food, low-carbon source for
biofuels and biopower.
Published by Blade Energy
Crops, a seed brand of Ceres,
Inc., the guide features the latest thinking among
agronomists for this multi-year crop, including criteria for
seed variety selection, field preparation and planting rates, as
well as weed control and biomass harvest suggestions, among
other topics.
Switchgrass product manager Cory Christensen, Ph.D. says the
free reference guide draws on the most recent data and
experiences from the company’s energy crop trialing network —
the largest in the U.S. He noted that the Blade guide should be
a useful resource for both experienced switchgrass producers and
growers considering this perennial energy crop for the first
time.
“This guide is intended to help growers get ahead of the curve
as the market for biomass develops,” said Christensen. Biomass,
which is all the above-ground plant material, can be processed
into biofuels or burned to produce electricity. Christensen
noted that “agronomic recommendations are evolving each season
as new switchgrass seed varieties become available and we get
more data from the field and from biorefineries and biopower
companies. So, it’s important to stay on top of the latest
findings.”
Titled "Planting and Managing Switchgrass as a Dedicated
Energy Crop 2009," the 20-page guide may be downloaded at
the Blade brand website at
www.BladeEnergy.com. Growers can also request print copies
by calling Blade at 877-498-SEED. Blade representatives are also
distributing copies this week at the National Farm Machinery
Show in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ceres, Inc. is a leading developer and marketer of
high-yielding energy crops that can be planted as raw materials
for cellulosic ethanol production and biopower. Its development
efforts cover switchgrass, sorghum, miscanthus, energycane and
short-rotation woody crops. The plant breeding and biotechnology
company markets its switchgrass seed and sorghum seed under its
Blade Energy Crops brand. Ceres holds one of the world’s largest
proprietary collections of fully sequenced plant genes. |
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