Agronomic and Energetic Potential of Biomass Sorghum Genotypes

Abstract

The biomass sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], is an interesting crop considering the necessity to invest in alternative sources to generate renewable energy. The objective of this experiment was to identify sorghum biomass genotypes with greatest agronomic and energetic potential, and verify if there is phenotypic association between agronomic and technological properties in the hybrids. The study was conducted in three cities of the Minas Gerais State, Brazil (Lavras, Uberlandia and Sete Lagoas). It was evaluated 16 genotypes of sorghum biomass, being 14 of them sensitive hybrids to photoperiod and two cultivars, as control, insensitive to photoperiod. The experimental design was a triple lattice 4 × 4, with plots formed by four linear rows of 5.0 m. The morphoagronomic characteristics evaluated for the three environments were: days to flowering (FLOW), plant height (PH), number of stems (NS) and green matter production (GMP). In the experiment conducted in Lavras, also it was evaluated the agronomic traits: stem diameter (SD) and dry matter production (DMP) besides the technological traits: higher heating value (HHV), crude fiber (CF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF). The genotype × environment interaction was significant for all traits. The hybrids had superior performance compared to the control genotypes. Biomass sorghum hybrids, sensitive to photoperiod, when compared with commercial hybrids of forage sorghum, insensitive to photoperiod, had an average production of 34 t ha -1 dry matter with 62% humidity and higher heating value of 4.400 Kcal/Kg. There was no phenotypic correlation between agronomic and technological characters evaluated.