ARS | Publication request: Camelina: A Potential Winter Crop for the Northern Corn Belt

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 5, 2009
Publication Date: November 5, 2009
Citation: Gesch, R.W., Archer, D.W. 2009. Camelina: A Potential Winter Crop for the Northern Corn Belt [abstract][CD-ROM]. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting. Nov. 1-5, 2009, Pittsburgh, PA.

Technical Abstract: Camelina (Camelina sativa L.) may offer a low-input oilseed alternative for biodiesel and other vegetable oil applications. Little is known about its agronomic potential or the winter survivability of winter cultivars in the northern Corn Belt. A study was initiated in west central Minnesota to evaluate the agronomics and optimum seeding date of two winter camelina cultivars, BSX-WG1 and Joelle. Seed was sown at one-week intervals between mid-September and mid-October in 2007 in chisel plowed and no-tilled (wheat stubble) soil in a split-plot RCBD with four replications. The potential of following winter camelina with a spring crop was also examined. Spring plant stands did not differ between cultivars, but were greater in no-till soil and when seeded in early October. Severe early-season water logging led to a 27 to 32% loss of stand at harvest. Averaged across tillage and planting dates, yield was greater for Joelle (505 kg ha-1) than BSX-WG1 (389 kg ha-1). Yield did not differ with tillage, but was slightly higher when seeded in early- to mid-October. BSX began flowering about 3 to 4 d earlier than Joelle. Plants reached 50% flowering as early as May 22 and were harvested between June 26 and July 15. Time between 50% flowering and harvest ranged from 34 to 45 d. Early-maturing soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), and Siberian foxtail millet (Setaria italic L.) were planted following the earliest camelina harvests and yielded 70, 76, and 100%, respectively, of their full-season counterparts. Winter camelina appears to have good survivability for the northern Corn Belt and can be harvested early enough to allow potential for double cropping a food and biofuel crop in a single growing season.