Local tree center part of alternative fuel puzzle in U.S.

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ESCANABA - A tour of several biomass plots and tree trials was conducted Thursday at the U.P. Tree Improvement Center near Escanaba as part of Escanaba Electric Advisory Committee meeting.

Officials discussed some of the studies taking place at the tree center, including switchgrass, poplar and willow trials. Chris Kapp, field agricultural research chairman at the Chatham research plant, said there has been a huge interest in these plants for use as alternative energy, such as biomass or cellulosic ethanol.

"(We planted) this switchgrass seed plot in the last week of July 2006," said Kapp. "This plot is one of the more marginal... just because of the high water table."

Kapp said switchgrass is a very slow-growing crop that loves heat and water, but is rather resistant to drought conditions.

"It's a perennial prairie grass," he said. "The main problem is that it grows so slow."

Kapp said center workers are looking at the most effective harvest date. This year they will harvest in early October, late October and then again in the spring to test the resulting BTU, mineral and ash contents.

"Right now this plot looks really good, but it is (rather thin)," said Kapp. "Hopefully it will fill out."

The tour, altered slightly due to rain, featured several trials on potential biomass for various plantings, including the switchgrass variety trial and a miscanthus demonstration area. A poplar clonal trial was also featured, which is testing various hybrids for growth, adaptability and pest resistance. There are also poplar trials for yield and spacing.

Two willow trials, one testing clones for yields and another testing different herbicides, was also shown, as well as a poplar harvesting and chipping study.

Dr. Ray Miller, experiment station manager, also spoke at the event. He said he advocates looking at all the options for new energy, as well as increasing conservation and efficiency.

"To do (this) intelligently means to do everything we can if we're going to ever reduce the amount of fossil fuels we are using," said MIller. "There's a role for all of these things we're reading about and hearing about."

Miller said there is no way America will ever completely remove its reliance on fossil fuels, and that biomass is one of many solutions to the problem.

"Wind is not going to do it ... solar technology is not going to do it, the movement of the water in the Great Lakes is not going to do it," he said. "What we have is many answers and we need to use everything."

The U.P. Tree Improvement Center is located at the Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station near Hyde. For more information about the center, go to www.maes.msu.edu/uptic.

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Audrey LaFave, (906) 786-2021, ext. 145, alafave@dailypress.net