Tobacco as Fodder

I recently posted on the interesting research done on tobacco:

http://globalwarming-arclein.blogspot.com/2008/11/bill-drake-on-tobacco-as-ethanol.html

Following up on the subject of using tobacco as a biomass source, it appears that some good new work is happening. In particular there will be a field test this coming season in Spain in which cattle and pigs will be fed tobacco fodder. As I reported earlier, tobacco can make between 100 to 300 tons of biomass per acre cropped, primarily because it can be recut over and over again.

Since it is not woody, the fodder is apparently suitable as even pig feed. It is also possibly even tasty. This is certainly way more productive than other options such as corn.

It only remaining question is whether in its present form it may be eaten directly by livestock. I am surprised that this has not been answered for centuries. On other hand, folks thought potatoes toxic for a couple of centuries.

The dry portion of tobacco contains 2% to 8% nicotine which is a problem. However, if the fodder is eaten as is, the effect is perhaps minimized. It is also noted that radishes will neutralize the nicotine. I do not know proportions, but I recall that cattle used to be fed mangles which are a giant variety of radish.

All this is suggesting that while there may be some room to experiment with mixes of mangels that are high in vitamin C and perhaps other ingredients in combination with chopped green tobacco, we are still ingesting a not insignificant amount of nicotine. If it can be kept low enough, then is will be harmless but will still demand careful monitoring.

It would be nice to simply remove the problem. This can be partly done by plant breeding, except that you still want some left in the plant.

It is a good bet that be have bred for high nicotine content over the past few centuries. We need to check the nicotine content of wild tobacco. After all, the nicotine is nature’s insecticide.

Once the decision is made to exploit the food qualities of tobacco, it will be fairly easy to develop a convenient version. We may even develop a nicotine free version, but I suspect that it thus made far too attractive to pests.

This is potentially an extremely important source of cattle feed that can sharply raise the carrying capacity of agricultural land. The food value is very high and the production per acre is extraordinary if the right conditions prevail.

WILD TOBACCO

Nicotiana rustica L.

plant symbol = NIRU

Contributed by: USDA NRCS Rose Lake Plant Materials Center

Alternate Names

Aztec tobacco, Native tobacco, Zuni tobacco, Mapacho

Uses

Cultural Wild tobacco is a highly sacred plant in American Indian tribal culture. Although specific tribal uses may vary, it is integral to many ceremonies involving prayer, protection, reverence, and healing.

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

Description

Wild tobacco is an annual forb that grows to 5 feet tall but commonly shorter in areas north of its natural range. Leaves are alternate, entire, ovate to lanceolate, and up to 12 inches near the base but reduced gradually toward the top. Both the stem and leaves are pubescent. Pale yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers are approximately 1 inch long and borne in terminal panicles or racemes. The flowers also exude a rather unpleasant odor. The numerous, tiny, scarcely flattened, dark seeds form in capsules.

Adaptation and Distribution

Wild tobacco is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico and parts of South America. Given proper care, this species can be grown throughout the continental United States.

For a current distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Website.

Establishment

If starting indoors seed can be planted as much as 10 weeks prior to last expected spring frost. Surface sow seed approximately ½ inch apart on firmed soil in a 2 to 3 inch deep tray. Press seed to soil but do not cover more than 1/16 inch. Keep soil moist and warm. Most seed will germinate within 20 days. Seedlings can be transplanted to individual pots when the second set of leaves appears (approximately 2 inches tall). Transplant outdoors in a sunny location at 18-inch spacings into rich, well-drained soil after any chance of frost. Harden plants by placing pots in a shady outdoors area for 3 or 4 days prior to transplanting. If seeding directly outdoors plant 4 or 5 seeds every 18 inches after the last expected frost. Thin to one when plants reach 4 to 6 inches. So as not to damage the roots of the desired plants, clip unwanted plants at ground level rather than pulling them.

Management

Wild tobacco can be periodically fed with a dilute liquid or small amount of dry fertilizer. Manure can be added to the soil mix in addition to or in lieu of fertilizer. Irrigate if conditions become droughty but wild tobacco is susceptible to disease problems when the soil is keep too moist. Pruning flowers can stimulate leaf growth. Harvest the leaves before frost and dry in bundles to retain moisture as they cure.

Algae Trial in New Zealand

Hamish Macfarlane has introduced me to a company that he has had involvement with named Aquaflow bionomic corporation out of New Zealand. What these folks have done is to tap municipal sewage settling ponds that are already producing algae for their feedstock.

They do not describe all the details of their process, but it is obvious that their first step has to be to run the algae rich water through a filter press. They are then able to harvest the contained lipids from the concentrated algae. No one is talking about yield which must be quite low since we are dealing with a mix of wild algae at this time.

Since the initial feed stock is sewage, it also suggests that the de-oiled dry mass may be unsuitable for cattle feed. This does beg the question of what to do with the substantial dry mass in any attempt to create a commercial industry.

What is important, is that these sewage settling ponds are nutrient rich and need to be biologically reprocessed before the fluids can be reused in whatever manner. Maximizing algae production while capturing the bio available nutrients is a very good intermediate step that preserves the nutrients.

Separating the algae from the grey water is simple, economic and easy with a rotary filter press, and if that produces a product that can then be used as a feed stock for further processing, we may have an economic basis for doing all this.

This harvesting of an algae feed stock from sewage settling ponds can be maximized and be an important contributor to the bio remediation of the sewage cocktail. The algae will not likely be a collector of toxins that it cannot handle or even break down. This means, that by and large this process separates the sewage feed stock into two separate feed stocks.

Through aeration and stimulation the settled and dissolved components will lose a lot of their reactivity and become usable even as high quality crop dressing. The surplus nutrients will end up been carried away in a living algae biomass that can then be perhaps used in further processing.

So far the New Zealand company has been able to collect the lipid content of a natural blend of wild algae. I suspect that the yield is at best a trivial amount of the total bio mass but will at least establish a threshold. We will discover what percentage of oil is retained regardless of processing energy and input. Anything over that may be deemed as potentially recoverable.

Then the interesting question is whether it is possible to selectively stimulate the growth of superior oil bearing strains, and just as important to keep them in suspension. We know that the most important oil algae species likes to sink to the bottom which is not very good in a sewage settling pond.

A simple fix might be the installation of a secondary pond that is fed by a surface waters only drawn off by a skimming barrier and packing the dissolved nutrients and micro organic particulates. Then the algae can grow out primarily in the secondary pond and be aggressively harvested there with pumps.

In a perfect world, the grey water then exiting the secondary pond would be totally spent with all the nutrients absorbed into the algae byproduct.

This would also allow a stimulation of algae populations to improve oil yields.

The other question is if it will be possible to treat the pressed algae in anyway that could make it fit for cattle feed. There is only so much molasses can do, but if the algae mix can sponge up the unpalatable components during the growing phase, then this becomes a very effective way to produce rich fodder for cattle and the oil yield is not necessarily the most important part of the process.

This is a lot of speculation, but at least someone has a working prototype system to explore the possibilities. We will have to keep watching.

In the meantime others will experiment with a mono culture approach fed by chemical feeds.

I personally like the idea of been able to use a wild algae blend, but must admit that I am not optimistic that economic yields of oil can be achieved that way.

Cattle Methane Production

The news is alive today with an report by some chap who has chosen to warn the world that the large global herd of cattle are on the way to distorting the global climate through the greenhouse effect of methane. I have already pointed out that this concern is at best rubbish in other posts and is like been concerned that the excessive production of rainfall will increase the sea level.

All methane departs for the vast ocean of the troposphere were it is vigorously consumed, well outside the working atmosphere. That any remains for any length of time at all is only due to strong continual point sources. The methane map over the oceans show an unchanging barrenness, which confirms the rapid rise of methane through the atmosphere.

I am growing rather weary of scientists acting like stock promoters hustling the new theory of the day. At least stock promoters make no claim to intellectual authority. Yes Virginia, I is a stock promoter in other lives and fully appreciate the application of nuanced presentation to keep the boys out of jail.

At least cows are not producing a like amount of CO2. An appropriate question to ask is if the original ecology maintained the same level of ruminants. This certainly was true on the buffalo commons of the great plains. It must have been also true in all of Asia and Europe. There are huge tracts there that would clearly benefit from the reintroduction of bison.

The reforestation of the Sahara will go hand in hand with the introduction of cattle to process and refertilize the ground cover that will be reestablishing itself. This will be the first major step in terra forming the earth as all hot dry lands are retimbered with the technical assist of atmospheric water harvesting.

Off course, I am quite sure that that fine gentleman also subscribes to the argument that the global population needs to be sharply reduced. At least his argument for the sharp reduction in cattle herds is leading there. None have yet shown the required leadership to show the rest of us the required method.

Readers may wish to go back and read my early posts on the use of atmospheric water recovery.