Potentials of crops residues – A case study for the province Vojvodina

Crop residues are targeted as energy sources and feedstock for diverse products. A six-year lasting investigation, aiming to determine the yield potentials of crop residues of mostly grown field crops wheat, soybean and corn in the province Vojvodina (Serbia), was performed. The three levels of potentials were distinguished: theoretical, technical and sustainable. Two seasonal weather conditions were distinguished – common and dry, and their impact on the biomass yield was analyzed. The yields were expressed as absolute and relative to grain yield since the grain yield is always measured, and is available in national statistics. During common seasons, technical potentials were about 56% for wheat, 45% for soybean and 41 or 51% for the two considered corn stover collection procedures. For dry seasons, the technical potential of all considered crops was reduced to between 30 and 50%. On field remained aboveground residual biomass and its relative (to grain) amount, which was between 43 and 60%, was defined. It was concluded that the defining of sustainable potentials is a very complex task. Besides the aforementioned, measures aimed to preserve soil fertility, some overlooked issues in the literature and practice were listed and commented on.