Fermented corn stover can refurbish soil

Agricultural Research, April, 2005 by Jane M.F. Johnson

The stalks and leaves that remain after harvesting ears of corn make up what's called corn stover. It contains a material, called lignin, which is so tough it resists the action of fermentation microbes used to convert plant matter to ethanol. The undigested fibrous material remaining after fermenting alcohol from corn stover has a compostlike consistency and contains three times the nitrogen and lignin of the original cornstalks. So researchers wondered if this residue might be safely applied to soil to increase its structural stability and organic matter content.

They applied the fermentation by product to two types of soil at three rates--up to the equivalent of 6 tons of stover per acre. Some test soil was high in organic matter, some was low and highly eroded, and both soil types also received chopped cornstalks for comparison. The fermentation byproduct increased the organic matter content and structural stability of the highly eroded soil. In a separate, preliminary study, results showed no harm to corn or soybeans grown in the presence of the stover fermentation byproduct. Jane M.F. Johnson, USDA-ARS North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory, Morris, Minnesota; phone (320) 589-3411, e-mail jjohnson@morris. ars.usda.gov.