BIOFUELS IN VENEZUELA

In order to evaluate the yield of sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid) for ethanol production eleven cultivars were evaluated: V91-8 V98-86 V91-01 V99-271 C323-368 V98-120 V99-236 B80-408 V00-50 V99-190 CP74-2005 during one production cycle. The trial was carried out in the field of the Universidad Nacional Experimental Sur del Lago Jesús María Semprum (UNESUR) in a randomized block design choosing plants from the central furrow of each experimental plot (45 m2/treatment). The criteria evaluated were: production in tons of cane per hectare (TCH) tons of sugar/ha (TAH) percentage of polysaccharides (% POL) liters of ethanol per hectare (LtEt/hA) efficiency (LtEt/TC) and concentration of ethanol produced. The results indicate non-significant differences between treatments due to the effect of cultivars for the variable TAH and highly significant for efficiency (LtEt/TC) (p >= 0.001) and ethanol concentration (p >= 0.001). Venezuela can produce ethanol from sugarcane crops in the area south of Lake Maracaibo.