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Feed and fuel: the dual‐purpose advantage of an industrial sweetpotato
Author(s) -
Mussoline Wendy A,
Wilkie Ann C
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.7902
Subject(s) - nutrient , agronomy , dry matter , biofuel , crop , biology , cultivar , environmental science , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology
BACKGROUND Sustainable agricultural systems must support nutritional requirements, meet the energy demands of a growing population, preserve environmental resources and mitigate climate change. The sweetpotato ( Ipomoea batatas L.) is a high‐yielding crop that requires minimal fertilization and irrigation, and the CX ‐1 industrial cultivar offers superior potential for feed and fuel. RESULTS CX ‐1 had the highest agronomic fresh vine yield (51.5 t ha −1 ), averaged over two cropping seasons, compared with Hernandez (33.7) and Beauregard (21.8) varieties. CX ‐1 vines were more nutritional than the table varieties, specifically in regard to relative feed value (205), water‐soluble carbohydrates (171 g kg −1 dry matter ( DM )), total digestible nutrients (643 g kg −1 DM ), metabolizable energy (10.2 MJ kg −1 DM ) and organic matter digestibility. Their lower fiber and lignin concentrations contributed to their freshness and digestibility throughout maturity. Significantly higher iron concentrations make the CX ‐1 vines a valuable, low‐fat iron supplement for animal feed. The CX ‐1 roots also showed the highest bioethanol potential (82.3 g ethanol kg −1 fresh root) compared to Hernandez (64.5) and Beauregard (48.1). CONCLUSION The CX ‐1 industrial sweetpotato is an ideal dual‐purpose crop for tropical/subtropical climates that can be utilized as a non‐grain‐based feedstock for bioethanol production while contributing a valuable, high‐yielding nutritional supplement for animal feed. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry