Southeast Missouri State Research Center harvests 'next big biofuel crop'

The first test plot of sorghum harvested at Southeast Missouri State University's David M. Barton Agriculture Research Center indicates it could be a viable renewable energy source and soon could replace corn as the preferred ethanol fuel crop, according to a university news release.

Wesley Mueller, Southeast professor of agriculture, said he and several students harvested 6.5 percent of the center's sorghum plot last weekend, generating 135 gallons of sorghum juice. The entire plot could generate 2,100 gallons of sorghum juice, he said.

Sorghum grown at the university farm in the future could produce 500 gallons of ethanol per acre, Muller said. These figures rapidly outpace corn, which generally yields 235 gallons of ethanol per acre.

"So we've more than doubled the yield per acre, and we think we can do it with less water and fertilizer" than that used to produce corn, Mueller said.

Sorghum can be converted to ethanol more efficiently than corn, he said, because ethanol is produced directly from sorghum's sugar. Starch in corn must first be converted to sugar and then to alcohol, he said.

"The vision is that this will be the next big biofuel crop," he said.

Mueller will discuss his research at research center's Field Day scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday.

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