Location: Sugarcane Research
Project Number: 6052-13210-003-004-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Mar 1, 2021
End Date: Feb 29, 2024
Objective:
To support this priority, this proposed research aims to achieve the following objectives:
1) Quantify the effects of leguminous winter cover crops on nitrogen supply and biomass for energycane production.
2) Determine the economic, environmental, and energy benefits of growing energycane with winter leguminous cover crop.
3) Outreach our research results to producers, county extension agents, and other stakeholders through our annual field day, workshop, scientific meetings, and peer reviewed journals.
Approach:
The proposed research comprises of growing energycane for two years at Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center in Beaumont, Texas, and USDA-ARS in Houma, Louisiana, with two cover crops accompanied by a standard nitrogen (N) fertilizer application as positive control and an absolute control without N fertilizer. The following data will be collected from the cover crop treatments and the control: year-round N dynamics including leaching, nitrous oxide emission and N removal through biomass harvest, and year-end carbon sequestration, biomass yield, and fiber quality. This information will help determine the economic, environmental and energy benefits for energycane with winter leguminous cover crops.
