BIOETHANOL POTENTIAL OF DIFFERENT SWEET SORGHUM GENOTYPES GROWN UNDER MEDITER NEAN CONDITIONS

Abstract

World fossil fuel sources are continuously depleted. thus there is an escalated search for alternative and renewable energy sources. In this sense, sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Mohlenbr.) constitutes a strong candidate for a cheap and renewable source of energy. This study was conducted to assess the potential of sweet sorghum as a source of biofuel production. Forty-nine sweet sorghum genotypes obtained from various sources were used as the material. Experiments were conducted at the Eastern Mediterranean Agricultural Research Institute (Adana/Turkey, 36 degrees 51' 35" K and 35 degrees 20' 43" D) in 2015 during the second crop season in randomized blocks design with 4 replications, Number of days to 50% flowering of the genotypes varied between 60.3 - 105.3 days, plant heights between 116.2 - 418.6 cm, stalk yields between 46.4297.4 t ha (-1), biomass yields between 86.0 354.0 t ha(-1), dry matter yields between 13,3 - 79.5 t ha(-1), stalk diameters between 12.6 - 31.4 mm, juice yields between 16275 - 121125 L ha(-1), brix values between 9.60 - 16.50%, potential sugar yields between 1.93 13.9 t ha(-1) and finally theoretical ethanol yields varied between 1028 - 7414 L ha(-1). In the present study, 21 of the 49 genotypes had greater biomass and ethanol potentials than the other genotypes. Based on these results. those 21 genotypes could be used in further evaluation studies in the region.