Variation of Morpho-Agronomic and Biomass Quality Traits in Elephant Grass for Energy Purposes According to Nitrogen Levels

Abstract

Elephant grass is a tropical forage plant widely spread in Brazil, used mainly in the livestock sector and in cattle feeding. Because of its high productivity and photosynthetic capacity, this culture has also been considered an alternative source of renewable energy. Six clones of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) were evaluated under five levels of nitrogen fertilization (100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600 kg∙N∙ha−1), in a randomized-block design with a split-plot arrangement with three replicates, from April 2010 to December 2012, in the city of Campos dos Goytacazes— RJ, Brazil. The objective was to obtain estimates of variation in morpho-agronomic traits and biomass quality. We observed that genotypes Cameroon-Piracicaba and Guaçu I/Z2 have great potential to be used, with maximum dry matter yields of 60.97 and 44.10 t∙ha−1 per cut for energy purposes among the studied genotypes.