LSU AgCenter scores $387,000 grant to evaluate cover crops for energy cane

In Louisiana, a team of LSU AgCenter researchers has received a four-year, $387,000 grant to evaluate the feedstock potential of energy cane and sweet sorghum with winter cover crops. Energy cane produces three crops in four years from one planting. The growing cycle is similar to the pattern farmers use for growing sugarcane. Growers and scientists are concerned about soil health when the entire biomass of a crop such as energy cane is removed without leaving behind any organic matter to compost and return to the soil the nutrients and chemical compounds to maintain soil health and fertility. To address this concern, AgCenter researchers are planting winter cover crops to protect the bare soil and maintain soil health.