Hanzenko O. Theoretical and agrobiological basis of the productivity formation of sugar crops for biofuel in the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

Thesis for a Doctor of Agriculture degree by specialty 01.06.09 – Plant growing. Institute of Bioenergy Crops and Sugar Beet National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2021. The thesis presents the results of a comprehensive study on the theoretical and agrobiological justification of the process of productivity formation in sugar crops as a feedstock for biofuel production in the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine, conducted in the years 2010−2020. Scientific works of Ukrainian and foreign scientists on the state and prospects of bioenergy development in Ukraine and the world, the goals that Ukraine has committed to achieve in accordance with international climate agreements, as well as the peculiarities of growing sugar crops for biofuel production are analysed. It is noted that in the conditions of Ukraine, sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and sugar sorghum (Sorghum saccharatum (L.) Moench) are the most promising crops for the production of liquid, gaseous, and solid biofuels. Methodological bases for estimating the energy potential of different varieties and hybrids of sugar crops and the components of the cultivation technology by calculating the yield of bioethanol, biogas, and solid biofuels, as well as energy per unit area are developed. Theoretical and agrobiological bases for the determination of the leaf area in sugar sorghum plants and the fractional composition of sugar beet roots are developed. The agrobiological bases of sugar sorghum and sugar beet productivity formation as affected by varietal assortment, doses of mineral fertilisers, sowing and harvesting dates in different subzones of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine are substantiated. Morphological and physiological features of formation and realization of the biological potential of sugar crops productivity as affected by the components of cultivation technology and environmental factors are revealed. The economic feasibility of biofuel production from sugar sorghum and sugar beet biomass is proved. The energy efficiency of mineral fertilisers application during the cultivation of sugar crops for energy purposes for different parts of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine is substantiated.