Growth Response to Nutrient Management during a 3 Year Study of Miscanthus x giganteus

To accelerate the acclimation of novel crops for bio-energy feedstock supply chain, a pilot study focused on Miscanthus giganteus was conducted in the piedmont area of North Carolina to determine region specific productivity. The main aim of the study was to determine the growth response in biomass accumulation during a 3 year establishment period under different nutrient management practices. Growth response was tested through nutrient application at (5) different fertilizer rates: 0 NPK kg ha-1 (T1), 67 NPK kg ha-1, (T2), 135 NPK kg ha-1 (T3), 202 NPK kg ha-1 (T4), and 269 NPK kg ha-1 (T5). The experimental study took place at NC A&T State University research farm located in Greensboro, NC (Guilford County). “Nutrient Management” P(<.0001/<.0001), “Harvest Year” P (<.0001/<.0001), and the “Interaction Effect” P (0.0002/0.01) were significant factors affecting (Fresh/Dry) matter accumulation observed during 3 consecutive years. Fresh matter was shown to dramatically increase in biomass accumulation with fertilizer treatment T3 during 2013 (17.57±1.74 t ha-1), 2014 (38.51±0.8 t ha-1), and 2015 (45.43±2.91 t ha-1) harvests as compared to the control treatment T1. Dry matter followed a similar trend in which yield was shown to significantly increase at treatment application T3 during 2014 (23.54±0.8 t ha-1), and 2015 (36.15±3.05 t ha-1), as compared to the dry matter yields recovered from treatment application T1 during 2014 (11.02±1.6 t ha-1), and 2015 (26.76±0.64 t ha-1). Treatment T3 has produced significantly higher biomass than T1 & T2.