Harvest Strategies for Corn Ethanol Production.

This two-year study of corn harvest strategies for ethanol production was conducted using corn grown on farms located in the Michigan counties of Branch, Ingham, Huron and Menominee. Three harvest strategies were applied at these four locations, including: harvest whole plant at growth stage R5 (S1); harvest grain, stover, and cob separately at post physiological maturity (S2); and harvest whole plant post physiological maturity (S3). For the S1 treatment, two post-harvest subtreatments (S1A- fresh) and (S1B- ensiled) were processed. Similarly, for the S2 treatment, three subtreatments of grain, stover, and cob fractions were processed. The results showed S2 had the lowest ethanol production at Branch, Ingham and Huron, and there was no sufficient difference between S1 and S3 at these three counties. In Menominee County, S3 had the highest ethanol production compared to S1 and S2. In all these four locations, there was no difference between S1A and S1B, which suggests that ensiling biomass may be a logistical method of on-farm storage. Additionally, S1A and S1B had greater ethanol yield than S2 at the south or central counties in Michigan, while S3 had the greatest ethanol yield at the most northern Michigan county.