Hybrids of sorghum crops as raw materials for the production of solid biofuel

Abstract

Goal. To study and select raw material in the creation of high-yielding sorghum hybrids for the bioenergetic direction of use for obtaining solid biofuel. Methods. Field — to study biological and technological aspects; laboratory — to determine the parameters of the elements of the crop structure and yield of sorghum; mathematical and statistical — to calculate the indicators of hybrid combinations. The research was conducted in 2021–2023 on 68 simple sorghum hybrids at the Sinelnykiv breeding and research station of IGC of NAAS, where the new source material was evaluated. The best hybrids were selected for further transfer to the state variety testing. Experiments were carried out in 3 repetitions, the area of plots was 25 m2. Harvest accounting was carried out manually with structural analysis. To determine the content of dry matter, 3 samples of 50 g each were taken from 2 non-adjacent repetitions, which were weighed before and after drying in a drying cabinet at a temperature of 100–105 °C to a constant weight. Based on these data, the percentage of dry matter was calculated. Results. It was established that the highest indicators of the yield of green mass were in the combinations F1 (Nyzkorosle 81s Karlykove 45) — 66.2 t/ha, F1 (Nyzkorosle 93s  Karlykove 45) — 65.9 and F1 (Nyzkorosle 81s Sylosne 42) — 44.2 t/ha. According to the «dry matter yield» combination F1 (Nyzkorosle 81s  Karlykove 45) — 24.1 t/ha, F1 (Nyzkorosle 93s Karlykove 45) — 23.8 t/ha, and F1 (Nyzkorosle 81s  Sylosne 42) — 20.1 t/ha were selected. Conclusions. Studies of the source material for the creation of high-yielding sorghum hybrids of the bioenergy direction for use to obtain solid biofuel established that the best hybrid combinations according to the indicators of «yield of green mass and dry matter» were obtained from crossing the maternal components of grain sorghum Nyzkorosle 81s and Nyzkorosle 93s with the dwarf sorghum Karlykove 45 and Krasen. It was proven that sorghum hybrids with high yields of green mass and dry matter, dry matter content (dry stemness), and percentage of soluble carbohydrates can be used in the production of solid biofuel.