Canadian Biomass Supply Chain Improvements to Increase Investment Opportunities

Innovations in Warm Season Grass Biomass Crops Roger Samson REAP-CANADA Montreal

•Canada’s leading agency in developing perennial herbaceous

biomass crops since 1991

•International Agricultural Research &

Development Programs since 1997

•International reputation for innovation

in breeding, agronomy and

market development of switchgrass

Big Bluestem Advantages: Good biomass quality from high stem content, drought tolerance, low maintenance once established

Switchgrass Advantages: Large de-hulled seed, quicker to establish and to peak production, easier to harvest

CURRENT STATUS

• In Eastern Canada ~1500ha in Ont and QC

• Nearly all is an unimproved switchgrass collection found near Cave-in-Rock Illinois in 1958

• Yields of 10 t/ha on better land

and 7-8t/ha on average land

Lessons Learned

• Establishment has been challenging

• Easy to manage & harvest stands

• Switchgrass head smut has emerged as an important disease in older (8yr plus) monoculture stands of switchgrass

• Slow to develop bioenergy markets have been the main problem, need more effort on developing biomaterial and agri-food markets

Biomass Supply Chain Network Priority Needs

Short-Term: Market Opportunities for Purpose Grown Biomass of Switchgrass and Miscanthus- Characterize most promising markets, key challenges and opportunities ,

prioritization Longer Term: Developing Biomass Crops for Marginal

Lands -especially low opportunity cost lands with surplus

seasonal moisture

Market Opportunities for Purpose Grown Biomass:

Switchgrass (SG) vs. Wheat Straw • SG fiber length and strength is greater • SG has greater ability to resist compressive forces • Overwintered SG is ~.3% N , wheat straw is 0.7-1.0% N • Widely tested for biocomposites and pulping applications • Historically used for housing as it is resistant to decomposition

Switchgrass is a Premium Livestock Bedding

BENEFITS

Ammonia Absorption

Slow Decomposing

Low Microbial Activity

Animal Comfort

Non-slippery

Readily Dedusted

High Quality Manure

Switchgrass is a Premium Horticultural Mulch

BENEFITS

Weed Control

Plant Response

Slow Decomposing

Soil Building

Moisture Conserving

Winterhardiness

Emerging Feedstock Development Successes

• Improved agronomy and breeding is enabling the crops to be easy to establish for 6-8 year crop rotations.

• Big bluestem-switchgrass mixtures appear promising for optimizing yields and improving biomass quality.

• Breeding progress is excellent for native warm

season (C4) perennial grasses (~1.5%/yr)

(not as moisture limited like C3 grasses).

At 1 month after planting, superior plants (tall erect and single tiller) are selected for improved seedling vigor and low tillering

IMPROVING SWITCHGRASS MORPHOLOGY Selection at the seedling stage has been found to be

effective and resource efficient

10 Years of Breeding to Improve Cave-in-Rock

1st year Space Plant Nursery following Fall 2006 seed collection of old field in QC

Annual transplants uniform and erect by August 2015

By August 2016, mature stand of upland switchgrass has been transformed to an erect canopy like lowland switchgrass

REAP’s Comprehensive Breeding Strategy to Improve Warm Season Grasses

1. Genetic strategies to build a better solar collector and improve fibre quality

2. Optimize the diversity of beneficial growth enhancing biological organisms in plants

Research and Development of Biological Organisms

• REAP’s native grass field breeding research has been undertaken without

fertilization since the 1990’s to encourage plant growth-promoting bacteria • Elite selections of high biomass producing native plants are ideal

candidates for sourcing crop beneficial fungal endophytes • University of Guelph/REAP-Canada partnership to identify crop beneficial

endophytes in REAP’s elite breeding selections of big bluestem • McGill University/REAP-Canada partnership to identify and characterize

endophytes in elite switchgrass selections made by REAP-Canada. Subsequent patenting of an endophyte strain (Bacillus methylotrophicus B-26) and method of using the strain to increase drought resistance in other crops.

Switchgrass Breeding Innovations

1) REAP evolved an annual breeding cycle in 2013 (all U.S. programs were using 2-7 year breeding cycles on upland switchgrass)

2) Emphasis on juvenile plant selection from large numbers of plants (3000) per annual cycle in the greenhouse

3) Development of a creeping nursery concept within the annual breeding cycle (pollen is transferred from best plants of old nurseries to new)

4) Tightly spacing plants to create a sward like effect in evaluation nurseries

5) The only long term temperate warm season grass breeding program to not apply fertilizer to encourage diverse Plant Growth-Promoting organisms

Summary

• Farmers are embracing warm season grass biomass feedstocks as a means to grow the bioeconomy and the agri-food sector

• A comprehensive market study is urgently needed

• Innovations in rapid morphological selection methods of breeding perennial biomass crops are being made

• Significant potential for development of

PGP organisms through plant breeding

• Burton, G. W. (1982). Improved recurrent restricted phenotypic selection increases bahiagrass forage yields. Crop Science, 22(5), 1058-1061.

• Delaquis,E., R. Samson, P. Seguin, A. Mustafa, and H. Martel, “Impacts of Improved Switchgrass and Big Bluestem Selections on Yield, Morphological Characteristics, and Biomass Quality,” Advances in Agriculture, vol. 2014, Article ID 192824, 14 pages, 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/192824 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aag/2014/192824/

• Gagne-Bourque ,F . et al (2015) Accelerated growth rate and increased drought stress resilience of the model grass Brachypodium distachyon colonized by Bacillus subtilis B26. PLoS ONE 10(6):e0130456. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130456.

• Gagne-Bourque, F., K. Aliferis,P. Seguin, M. Rani, R. Samson and S. Jabaji S. (2013). Isolation and characterization of indigenous endophytic bacteria associated with leaves of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) cultivars. J. Appl. Microbiol. 114 836–853. 10.1111/jam.12088.

• Gagné-Bourque F., Bertrand A., Claessens A., Aliferis K. A. and Jabaji S. (2016) Alleviation of drought stress and metabolic changes in Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) colonized with Bacillus subtilis B26. Front. Plant Sci. 7, 584, doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00584 (2016).

• Jabaji, S. , P. Seguin, R. Samson, and F. Gagné-Bourque . 2012. L’isolation et la caractérisation des endophytes du panic érigé (Panicum virgatum) . MAPAQ project #809112. http://www.mapaq.gouv.qc.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/Recherche_Innovation/Grandescultures/809112.pdf

• Madakadze, I. C., Coulman, B. E., Peterson, P., Stewart, K. A., Samson, R., and Smith, D. L. (1998). Leaf area development, light interception, and yield among switchgrass populations in a short-season area. Crop Science, 38(3), 827-834

• Madakadze, I., B. E. Coulman, K. Stewart, P. Peterson, R. Samson, and D. L. Smith, 1998 “Phenology and tiller characteristics of big bluestem and switchgrass cultivars in a short growing season area,” Agronomy Journal, vol. 90, no. 4, pp. 489–495, 1998.

• Samson, R., Mani, S., Boddey, R., Sokhansanj, S., Quesada, D., Urquiaga, S., Reis, V. and C. Ho Lem. 2005. The potential of C4 perennial grasses for developing a global BIO-HEAT industry. Critical Reviews in Plant Science 24: 461-495.

• Samson, R., E. Delaquis, and G. MacInnis, Enhancing the Commercial Viability of Switchgrass on Marginal Farmland through Plant Breeding, 2014, http://www.reap-canada.com/online_library/feedstock_biomass/Report%20-%20Switchgrass%20breeding%20on%20marginal%20farmland%20-%20Samson,%20Delaquis,%20MacInnis%202013.pdf.

• Samson, R., E. Delaquis, B. Dean, J. DeBruyn, and U. Eggimann. 2016. Switchgrass Agronomy Guide 2016, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food/Ontario Biomass Producers Cooperative. 90 pp. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311628147_Switchgrass_Agronomy_2016

• Smart, A. J., Vogel, K. P., Moser, L. E., & Stroup, W. W. (2003). Divergent selection for seedling tiller number in big bluestem and switchgrass. Crop science, 43(4), 1427-1433.

Selected References

Research Partners in Warm Season Grass Plant Improvement