Introduction Biomass energy has received much attention in recent years. We now use about one third of the U.S. corn crop for biofuels. More recently, attention has focused on cellulosic resources—dedicated energy crops like switchgrass, miscanthus, and corn stover. Now the question has been raised concerning the economics of collecting just the corn cobs for energy instead of the stover. This ...

Many studies have compared corn-based ethanol to cellulosic ethanol on a per unit basis and have generally concluded that cellulosic ethanol will result in fewer environmental consequences, including nitrate (NO3(-)) output. This study takes a system-wide approach in considering the NO3(-) output and the relative areal extent of hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) due to the introduct...

Transgenic Bt maize that produces less than a high-dose has been widely adopted and presents considerable insect resistance management (IRM) challenges. Western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, has rapidly evolved resistance to Bt maize in the field, leading to local loss of efficacy for some corn rootworm Bt maize events. Documenting and responding to this resistance has ...

Emissions of nitric oxide (NO) were measured during the summer of 1995 from 4 crops, located at three different sites throughout North Carolina. These sites were chosen to represent major physiographic regions of the Southeast US, in an effort to compare fluxes from different agriculturally managed soils. Emission rates were determined using a dynamic flow-through chamber system. In order to un...

Organic farming has increased to a $4.2 billion industry in the U.S. and continues to expand approximately 20% annually. In Iowa alone, organic acreage for all crops has increased from 13,000 in 1995 to 120,000 in 1998. Organic corn production in 1997 was reported at 9,920 acres. International demand for organic products, particularly from the Japanese and European markets, is also on the rise....

1049-9644/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier Inc. A doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2011.06.014 ⇑ Corresponding author. Fax: +1 517 353 5598. E-mail address: [email protected] (B.P. Werling). Cultivation of biofuel crops could change agricultural landscapes, affecting natural enemies at multiple scales. We sampled five natural enemy families with sticky cards in three model biofuel habitats (corn, switch...

Subsoiling a compacted soil should loosen it, improve the physical conditions, and increase nutrient availability and crop yields. The aim of this work is to compare the effects of different tillage and fertility treatments in a loamy Typic Hapludoll soil, and to determine the interactions of N fertilization with several soil properties and dryland corn (Zea mays L.) productivity. The experimen...

Salinity level may affect early development of biofuel feedstock crops. The biofuel feedstock crops canola (Brassica napus L.), sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.); and the potential feedstock crop sweet corn (Zea mays L.) were planted in media in pots and treated with aqueous solutions of 0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 M NaCl once at: 1) planting; 2) 7-10 days afte...

Transgenic crops producing insecticidal toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been grown in many parts of the world since 1996. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required that industry submit insect resistance management (IRM) plans for each Bt corn and cotton product commercialized. A coalition of stakeholders including the EPA, USDA, acad...

Cellulosic and agricultural bio-energy crops can be utilized as feedstock source for bio-fuels production and provide environmental benefits such as hydrology, water quality. This study compared potential feedstock yield and water quality benefit scenarios of six bio-energy crops: Miscanthus (Miscanthus-giganteus), Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense), Alfalfa (Medic...