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Sweet sorghum bagasse – A source of organic manure

OAR@ICRISAT

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/7369/
259-2012
 
Title Sweet sorghum bagasse – A source of organic manure
 
Creator Sawargaonkar, G L
Wani, S P
Pavani, M
Ravinder Reddy, Ch
 
Subject Sorghum
 
Description Bagasse or silage is an important by-product in the sweet sorghum-based
ethanol industry. Above ground biomass distribution in sweet sorghum forms
90% of the total biomass produced and that includes stem, leaves and panicle
with grain. It is estimated that bagasse makes 30% of the total biomass of
sweet sorghum, which is composed of cellulose (15-25%), hemi cellulose (35-
50%) and lignin (20-30%) with Net Calorific value: 4,125 Kcal kg-1 (ash free);
depending on the genotypes (Grassi 2001). Approximate composition of sweet
sorghum bagasse is given in Table 1. It is estimated that 6-7 kg of bagasse
will be produced for every liter of ethanol produced from sweet sorghum.
Even though bagasse has multiple uses such as being a source for energy
cogeneration, animal feed and organic manure, it is important to work out the
trade-offs between its uses as a source of bio-fuel and carbon balance in the
whole production-to-consumption chain. In this context, recycling of bagasse
into organic manure and using it in the crop husbandry is an environmentally
safe measure of sequestering carbon in the soil. Sweet sorghum is promoted
in the semi-arid regions where organic carbon content in the soil is generally
low and the application of bagasse as organic manure assumes great
importance for sustaining the soil fertility. The direct application of bagasse
to the soil causes temporary lock up (immobilization) of soil nitrogen (N) due
to wider C: N (~35:1) ratio and hence, it is important to bring down the C:
N ratio by vermicomposting to use it as organic manure. Composting is the
value addition method for enriching organic residues with low N content and
this can be done either through microbial flora or along with earthworms.
Generally, composting of organic residues with earthworms is referred to as
vermicomposting, which is a rapid and simple method. The composition of
vermicompost is superior in terms of macro and micro nutrients; besides,
it is rich in plant growth promoting substances. The composting of sweet
sorghum bagasse with earthworms is focused in the project and protocol was
standardized for the same through laboratory and on farm trials.
 
Publisher International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
 
Contributor Reddy, B V S
Ashok Kumar, A
Ravinder Reddy, Ch
Rao, P P
Patil, J V
 
Date 2013
 
Type Book Section
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/7369/1/ch11_171-178.pdf
Sawargaonkar, G L and Wani, S P and Pavani, M and Ravinder Reddy, Ch (2013) Sweet sorghum bagasse – A source of organic manure. In: Developing a Sweet Sorghum Ethanol Value Chain. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India, pp. 155-162. ISBN 978-92-9066-555-7