Vanja Janušić

Bioethanol production from corn kernel grown with different cropping intensities.

The aim of this paper is to determine the level of influence of the applied cropping intensity on the water release speed from the kernel on the field and in the process of convection drying, on the content of starch and on the yield of ethanol in five different corn hybrids belonging to the same vegetation group.

Water release rate from corn kernel affected by cropping intensity

The average field kernel drying rate (water release rate) was not the identical in all growing seasons. Similar kernel drydown rates in the field are observed in 2002 and 2003 and they were much slower than drydown rates in the field in 2001. Although in the IPS the kernel moisture loss in the field is faster, the difference between production systems was not significant. All the hybrids, except Bc Jumbo 48, had the fastest average kernel drydown rate in 2001. Also, all the hybrids, except Bc Jumbo 48, had the fastest average kernel drydown rate in the IPS. Chosen hybrids had a significant kernel drydown rates in the field and responded differently in drydown rate under the impact of climatic conditions in growing seasons.