Harvesting Methods Directed at Biomass Crops Being Dried within the Field.

The increasing energy consumption and the concentration of energy demand are the main causes of the energy emergency. Agriculture may gain an important role through biomass production and valorization of livestock and agricultural residues for the development of renewable residues. This paper aims to evaluate the harvesting process and the energy sustainability of the direct combustion chain of Sorghum bicolor, a yearly crop that can achieve high biomass yields and can be easily introduced in the cropping system of the Pianura Padana, in Italy. Two different harvesting times were investigated, in both tests two different harvesting chains were evaluated. The results show that the proposed harvesting systems are sustainable from an energetic point of view and they allow to store the harvested biomass with a water content reasonably low.