Title:
Sunn Hemp, a Promising Leguminous Energy Crop as Inter-Cropping System: Preliminary Results for Spain
Author(s):
Sastre, C.M., Royano, L., Ciria, C.S., Parralejo, A.I., González, J., Ciria, P., Carrasco, J.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
Energy crops grown to supply current and future biofuel demand should not compete with food/feed crops. The use of marginal lands to grow these crops is appointed to be a suitable solution, although it should be combined with other strategies due to the difficulty to ensure energy crops economic viability and sustainability in some cases. One of these strategies is being evaluated under the framework of EU Project BeCool and consists in introducing energy crops as intercrops within traditional food crops rotations. This increases land available for energy crops without competing with food crops and generating ILUCs. Several alternative crop rotations are being tested within this strategy in the Spanish region of Extremadura. The results of Sunn Hemp (Crotalaria Juncea L.) first year of trials, a legume grown as part of a rotation with wheat are presented in this article. These results include data on productivity, soil and biomass characterization as well as an energy balance.
Keywords:
energy balance, energy crops, fiber, novel crop, sunn hemp
Topic:
Biomass Resources
Subtopic:
Biomass crops and energy grasses
Event:
26th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
1DV.5.10
Pages:
362 - 365
ISBN:
978-88-89407-18-9
Paper DOI:
10.5071/26thEUBCE2018-1DV.5.10
Price:
FREE