Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Jatropha curcas is a small tropical tree that produces oil from seed that is easily converted to biodiesel. Early reports stated that this tree produces large quantities of oil when grown on marginal lands without irrigation. CTAHR researchers, graduate student, and farmer conducted two on-station and one on-farm trial on three islands of Hawaii to test the early claims about Jatropha. A total of 12 varieties of Jatropha, nutrient and irrigation application, and plant growth regulator were factors in the trials. The results showed the necessity of applying adequate nutrients and water to produce high yields. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The farmer who collaborated on this work, and owns the largest Jatropha plantation in Hawaii, has implemented a nutrient application program to increase oil production.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis analysis conditions for simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were optimized. DNA was prepared for all accessions. Forty-four SSR primer pairs (Qi et al. 2004) were tested on DNA from sorghum, guinea grass, napiergrass, pearl millet, and napiergrass x pearl millet hybrids. Accessions were genotyped with nineteen SSR primer pairs via gel electrophoresis and Agilent DNA chip analysis. Stomatal guard cell size for accessions was determined. Genome size/ploidy of accessions was estimated by flow cytometry. Napiergrass chromosomes were imaged under fluorescent microscopy. Napiergrass x pearl millet hybrids were produced. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Increased understanding of napiergrass accessions ploidy and DNA content. Increased understanding of the genetic diversity of napiergrass in the Hawaiian Islands.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Guinea grass and napier grass genotypes collected from the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai were planted for evaluation at the Waimanalo research station located at near sea level on Oahu and Kula research station located at 1000m elevation on Maui. Genotypes of both grasses performed well at Waimanalo yielding over 50 Mg/ha/yr, but only Napier grass genotypes produced high yields at the Kula station. Energycane varieties obtained from Houma, Louisiana have been found free of pests and have been cleared for planting outside the quarantine site in Waimanalo. The Hawaii Agricultural Research Center (HARC) has expressed interest in using the energycane varieties for breeding purposes and approval to enable HARC do so has been obtained from the USDA plant breeder (Dr. Edward Richard) in Houma. A napier grass-millet hybrid developed by Dr. Robert Joy on Molokai has been planted at Waimanalo and appears to be a potential new grass for biofuel production. Millet is a drought resistant crop so it is likely that the napier grass-millet hybrid will be able to perform well in low rainfall zones of the state. Ten high yielding Jatropha genotypes were obtained from HARC in Kunia, Oahu and planted on Maui to evaluate their performance in a different environment. The Jatropha cuttings planted in May 2010 are growing rapidly and show signs that they will flower and produce seeds in the first year. Mr. James Twigg-Smith on the Big Island of Hawaii has planted about 75 ha of Jatropha on Aa lava lands and intends to expand his plantings to several hundred ha. Mr. Twigg-Smith has asked our help to improve his yield and we have submitted a plan of work to add a fertilizer management and tissue culture program to increase oil yield and produce high yielding trees through tissue culture of the highest yielding "super" trees. Our work with charcoal indicates that it has low agronomic value in the high clay soils of Hawaii. However, we hypothesize that charcoal or biochar can be beneficial when applied to coarse textured soils. To test this hypothesis, a graduate student from Khon Khen University in Thailand will be spending a year with us to conduct greenhouse trials using sandy soils imported from Thailand. Dr. Michael Cooney of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute is testing biochar as a filtering agent to purify sewage water. He believes biochar that has been used in this way has nutrients adsorbed on the surface that can serve as fertilizer for plants. He has asked us to test his nutrient-rich biocahr along with the untreated biochar to see if the former performs better than the latter as a soils amendment. We have agreed to do so and will be conducting a greenhouse trial to see if the nutrient-rich biochar will improve plant growth. A high school student has learned about our work and has contacted us about conducting a field trial near her home as a science project. We have provided her with reading material to enable her to develop a science project to test hypotheses she develops after conducting a review of the literature. She plans to install the field trial in the summer of 2011. PARTICIPANTS: Jonathan Deenik, PI, focuses on evaluating biochar as a soil amendment; Robert Paull, PI, conducts research on tissue culture of Jatropha. Michael Antal, Hawaii Natural Energy Insititue, produces charcoal differing in volatile matter content from different feedstock and is co-author in manuscripts currently in preparation; Tai MacClellen, graduate student who completed her MS degree on using charcoal as a soil amendment, Aminata Diarra, Sonia Campbell, and Yudai Sumiyoshi who have all worked on testing and characterizing biochar, and are co-authors in manuscripts currently being prepared. Richard Ogoshi and Brian Turano work closely with the PD to improve and evaluate tropical grasses as feedstock for biofuel production. Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company is a partner in testing tropical grasses for biofuel production and has received funding from the Office of Naval Research support research on producing biomass for transportation fuel. Hawaii Pure Plant Oil (HPPO) a Jatropha farm operated by James Twigg-Smith who is a partner in evaluating new methods to increase Jatropha oil production for conversion into biodiesel. The Hawaiian Agricultural Research Center is a partner in evaluating Jatropha and energycane for biofuel production in Hawaii. TARGET AUDIENCES: The Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company (HC&S) is a partner as well as target audience as it not only works jointly with us but will be a major grower of energy crops for biofuel production. Our joint effort with HC&S is also supported by the Office of Naval Research whose interest is in developing US capability to provide the military with clean, renewable transportation fuel. Hawaii Pure Plant Oil (HPPO) is a partner and target audience for our research on Jatropha. HPPO hopes to market its oil to Hawaiian Electric Company to generate electricity for the community. Hawaiian Electric currently supports our tissue culture research with a small grant and can be considered a partner and target audience. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
On the continental US, dry matter yield ranging from 15 - 30 Mg/ha/yr is considered high. In Hawaii, our long growing season enable us to produce dry matter yield as high as 100 Mg/ha/yr. High yields in Hawaii, however, have been obtained on prime agricultural lands, and our goal is to retain these lands for food production and learn to produce biomass for biofuels on the state's marginal, underutilized lands. In Hawaii, these underutilized lands occur at high elevations where air temperature is too low for most crops, and in the rain shadow of our high mountains where rainfall too low. Guinea grass is drought tolerant, but is not suitable for the high elevation zones. Our work shows that napier grass can perform well at 1000m elevation. We now need to learn whether napier grass can perform well in the dry, high elevations zones of the state. The napier grass-millet hybrid, developed by Dr. Joy is a promising candidate for the cool, dry zones of the state. One of the energycane varieties from Houma, Louisiana has been described as a cold tolerant variety. Jatropha has been touted as a high yield, perennial oil crop that can produce vegetable oil on marginal lands. In practice, Jatropha responds to good management and inputs like other crops, and the high oil yields claimed by Jatropha promoters have not been achieved in practice. However, high yielding trees have been identified, but seeds from these trees produce progeny that vary greatly in size, shape and oil yield. One way to multiply thousands of super trees from a singe parent is by tissue culture. We are working on this approach and will attempt to persuade Mr. Twigg-Smith, the largest Jatropha farmer in the state to work with us to use this technique as he expands his farm. Charcoal with a half life of many thousands of years is an effective means to sequester carbon in soils. Our early hypothesis was that charcoal would also serve and an effective soil amendment to improve soils quality and increase crop production. Our research so far indicates that charcoal is a high specific surface, variable charge material with physical and chemical properties very similar to our high specific surface, variable charge clay soils. We now believe that adding a small quantity of charcoal to a soil with very similar chemical and physical properties is not likely to alter the performance of the amended soil. However, the charcoal used to purify sewage water has its pores filled with nutrients removed from the sewage water. We believe this nutrient-rich biochar may have the carbon sequestering and agronomic value we have been looking for.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Three greenhouse tests were conducted to evaluate the value of biochar produced from three feedstocks as a soil amendment. The three biochars tested were produced from (1) sewage sludge, corn cob, and macadamia nut shell. The results indicate that the ability of biochar to improve plant performance depends on its volatile matter content, and the volatile matter content, in turn, depends on the temperature at which the feedstock is converted into biochar. The trials also show that biochar alone does not improve plant growth when added to soils, but will enhance plant growth when added in combination with fertilizers. Eight varieties of energycane varieties obtained from the USDA/ARS research unit in Houma, LA have been planted for evaluation at the Waimanalo Experiment Station. The energycane trials are part of a Sun Grant project obtained under this project to find new energy crops for the lower temperature, high elevation zones of the tropics and subtropics. Sixty oil palm trees were shipped to the Waimanalo station for planting and 40 more were planted at the Waiakea Station. The aim of these trials is to evaluate oil palm performance in diverse environments of the state. The PI attended a Department of Energy biomass program meeting in Washington DC in April, and was invited to an all-expense paid conference on "Aviation Biofuel" sponsored by the US Air force and USDA. In both conferences, our work on producing feedstock on marginal lands by growing perennial crops that make efficient use of water and nutrients so that prime agricultural lands can be preserved for growing food crops. In November, the PI was invited by Hawaiian Electric Company to give a talk on our work on bioenergy. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals involved in the project: Goro Uehara, Jonathan Deenik, Robert Paull, Amanda McClellen (Graduate Student), Richard Ogoshi, Joshua Niepp, Brian Turano, Michael Poteet, Michael Antal Partner Organization: Hawaii Agricultural Research Center TARGET AUDIENCES: Target Audiences: Energy producers such as Hawaiian Electric Company. State Agencies interested in lessening state dependence on imported fossil fuels such as Department of Agriculture. This project is partially funded by the above firms and we submit reports on our progress in producing feedstock for a biofuel industry that is still in its infancy and is seeking knowledge in which direction it needs to take. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Our work on biochar shows that not all biochars are alike and that producers and users of biochar need a tool based on well-characterized materials that enables biochar users to predict what impact addition a particular type of biochar will have on plant growth on a given type of soil. Our work with oil crops such as Jatropha curcas suggests that growing this crop for oil alone may not be sufficient to make it profitable. Many high yielding tropical oil crops such as Kukui nut (A. moluccana) and Jatropha that produce seeds that are toxic to humans and animals so that unlike soybean that is able to produce oil for biodiesel and meal for animal feed, a potential source of income for growers is missing. We have collected non-toxic Jatropha in our work and are collaborating with our partners to develop a high yielding, non toxic oil crop for energy production and meal for animals. There is strong interest in the aquaculture and animal husbandry industry to support our work for the added value that can be gained by producing non-toxic varieties of perennial oil crops. Our work has changed the view of many investors about which crops will produce the highest biomass yield. Trees such as Eucalyptus and Leucaena were thought to be the best cellulosic feedstock producers. Our work clearly shows that whereas, trees can produce about 25 tons of dry matter per hectare, tropical C-4 grasses such as Banana grass and Guinea grass can yield twice that amount over a wider range of environments.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This year's work is focused on three areas: (1) evaluation of Jatropha as oil crop for biodiesel production, (2) evaluation of lignocellulosic production for ethanol production, and (3) evaluation of biochar for use as a soil amendment and as a way to sequester carbon. Two grants, from Hawaiian Electric Company and the State Department of Agriculture support research on Jatropha, as a fast growing, perennial tree that produces an oil bearing nut and as a new crop for producing feedstock for biodiesel production. An inventory of Jatropha trees in the state shows that seed size and seed production vary among trees. One tree from the Pearl City Urban Garden Center appears to produce the highest yield and largest seeds. To multiply plantings high yielding trees, a tissue culture specialist has been hired to micro-propagate uniform material from the Pearl City tree. This project will collaborate with Maui County to evaluate high yielding Jatropha varieties in a network of stations on the slopes of Mt. Haleakala to determine how Jatropha performs in different temperature regimes ranging from sea level to 3000 ft elevation. A graduate student has been hired to collect the minimum set of soil, plant and weather data to develop a crop model of Jatropha to enable users to predict Jatropha yields elsewhere in the state. A Sun Grant project on oil crops has been funded and involves partners from four Pacific Island institutions and Alaska. A DOE project on cellulosic feedstock for ethanol production has been awarded to the college. This project will allow researchers to model the growth and performance of Bana grass (Pennesitum purpureum) and Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) so that growers will be able to use models to make better management decision for profitable biofuel production from lignocellulose producing crops. In collaboration with Dr. Michael Antal of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, we have been evaluating a range charcoals as soil amendments to improve soil quality and as a way to sequester carbon. A series of greenhouse trial in which different charcoals added to different soils planted to different crops clearly show that charcoals differ in their ability to improve soil quality. Charcoal with high volatile matter content depresses plant growth when added to soils, whereas, charcoal with low volatile matter content enhances the beneficial effect of fertilizers. Our laboratory research shows that phenolic compounds associated with volatile matter of charcoal are toxic to plants and glucosans serve as energy sources for soil microorganisms and result in immobilization of nitrogen. We conclude that volatile matter in charcoal depresses plant growth by a direct toxic effect of phenolic compounds and also by enabling microorganisms to immobilize nitrogen. When charcoal is produced at higher temperatures, volatile matter is carbonized and rendered non-toxic to plants and inaccessible to microorganisms for use as an energy source. We do not yet understand how low volatile matter charcoal acts to enhance the nutritional effect of fertilizers. PARTICIPANTS: Richard Ogoshi TPSS/CTAHR ogoshi@hawaii.edu Brian Turano TPSS/CTAHR turano@hawaii.edu Michael Poteet HARC, Aiea, Hawaii 96701 mpoteet@harc-hspa.com Michael Antal HNEI/SOEST mantal@hawaii.edu Samir Khanal MBBE/CTAHR khanal@hawaii.edu TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The food versus fuel debate guarantees that sugar, starch and vegetable oil can no longer be used as feedstock for conversion into biofuels. Our work with cellulosic feedstock for conversion into ethanol and non-food, perennial oil crops provides the State of Hawaii with a way to circumvent the food versus fuel problem. All of our energy crops are non-food, perennial and high yielding unstudied energy crops that show high potential for replacing fossil fuel as the primary feedstock for gasoline and diesel oil as transportation fuels. Our tropical grasses are capable of producing five times as many liters of ethanol per hectare compared to corn-based ethanol, and Jatropha can similarly produce 4 times as many liters of oil than soybean. In addition tropical grasses and perennial oil crops do not need to be replanted each year, and can make more efficient use of water and nutrients than annual crops. Renewable energy from biomass is a technology still in its infancy and much improvements can be made by studying how lignocellulosic and oil bearing tree crops will perform not on prime agricultural lands but on underutilized land in the high elevations zone and in the rain shadow of high mountains so that energy crops do not complete with high value food and agricultural crops. The state has a Flash Carbonization reactor that can now produce charcoal on commercial scales. Much of our agricultural and municipal wastes now present a serious disposal problem. These wastes can be converted into charcoal and the charcoal in turn used as soil amendments to improve soil quality. Our early work clearly shows that not all charcoal can improve soil quality, but properly manufactured, charcoal can be used to enhance nutrient uptake by plants and the sequestered carbon with a half life measured in thousands of years may in the future be traded for carbon dioxide emitted by polluting industries.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
Jatropha curcas, a new oil bearing perennial tree crop, largely unknown in the U.S. is being tested in field trials for the first time in Hawaii. Seeds planted in January 2007 began producing seed six months after planting. This crop was selected for its ability to perform well in low rainfall areas of the state. Owing to strong grower interest in this crop, seeds have been distributed to six growers in the state. This crop appears to have high genetic variability and selection of high yielding trees still need to be conducted. A selection and breeding program has high potential of producing better performing trees. A series of benchmark sites have been selected to conduct genotype by environment interactions trials for this crop. Three C4 grasses have been selected as fiber crops suitable for producing lignocellulosic feedstock for conversion into ethanol An undergraduate student who conducted a greenhouse test to evaluate biocarbon as soils amendment to improve soil
quality was awarded the outstanding undergraduate student research prize.
Impacts
Executives of Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) visited the Jatropha trials and were impressed with the early fruiting of the crop. HECO intends to support research on this crop in the hope that this will be a major renewable energy source for the state's energy future. Dole Food Company is experimenting with Jatropha on former pineapple land on the island of Lanai. Water is a major limiting resource on the island so Jatropha may be a replacement for pineapple on the island. A preproposal submitted to USDA to evaluate C4 grasses for producing lignocellulosic feedstock for conversion into ethanol has been approved for development into a full proposal. A proposal to use charcoal as potting medium for the plant nursery industry was approved for funding by the Hawaii County Department of Research and Development. The biomass feedstock for producing the charcoal will be invasive plant species infesting lands in the state.
Publications
- ABSTRACTS Marutaini, M., Uehara, G., Paull, R., Ogoshi, R., Turano, B., and Afaisen, S., 2007. Bioenergy feedstock assessment in the Western Pacific Islands. Presented at the 21st Pacific Science Congress. p:115
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