Triticale outyields wheat for bioethanol
Establishing a market and a supply chain for triticale is the main aim of a new research project on the crop after promising results were recorded in previous work, said Susie Roques of ADAS.
The involvement of Ensus in the latest project will give backing to the use of triticale for bioethanol production, she predicted, provided test batches of grain prove easy to process in the plant.
“We know triticale performs like wheat for bioethanol,” she said at ADAS’s Boxworth open day. “But it also produces a higher yield from less nitrogen. So it has a greenhouse gas emissions advantage over wheat, which is of interest to the fuel companies.”
An optimum nitrogen requirement of 200kg N/ha to produce a 12t/ha yield of triticale is better than that of wheat, which requires 250kg of N/ha for 10t/ha, she added. “It scavenges nitrogen from the soil more effectively.”
In a total of 11 trials conducted by ADAS, triticale outyielded wheat in nine of them, she reported. “Growers are surprised to hear that. The latest varieties are very high yielding and they also do very well as a second cereal.”
Triticale is tall, so can be at higher risk of lodging, she admitted. “But it produces a good straw yield, which is a benefit in some areas.”
A lack of agrochemical approvals for the crop is being addressed by having Agrovista involved in the new work, she continued. “Their expertise is helping to develop some off-label approvals.”
Another important part of the project is an on-going investigation into the nutritional value of triticale. “The other product from bioethanol is dried distillers grains for animal feed. Triticale has a higher fibre content, which has to be considered, but also seems to have the right amino acid profile for monogastrics.”
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