Winter camelina seed quality to different growing environments across Northern America and Europe

Authors: WALIA, MANINDER - University Of Nevada; ZANETTI, FEDERICA - University Of Bologna, Italy; Gesch, Russell - Russ; KRZYZANIAK, MICHAL - University Of Warmia; EYNCK, CHRISTINA - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada; PUTTICK, DEBBIE - Smart Earth Camelina Corp; ALEXOPOULOU, EFTHYMIA - Centre For Renewable Energy Sources And Savings (CRES); ROYO-ESNAL, ARTIZ - Universitat De Lleida; STOLARSKI, MARIUSZ - University Of Warmia; Isbell, Terry; MONTI, ANDREA - University Of Bologna, Italy

Submitted to: Industrial Crops and Products
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/13/2021
Publication Date: 5/21/2021
Citation: Walia, M.K., Zanetti, F., Gesch, R.W., Krzyzaniak, M., Eynck, C., Puttick, D., Alexopoulou, E., Royo-Esnal, A., Stolarski, M.J., Isbell, T., Monti, A. 2021. Winter camelina seed quality to different growing environments across Northern America and Europe. Industrial Crops and Products. 169(1). Article 113639. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113639.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113639

Interpretive Summary: Winter camelina is a new oilseed crop that can be grown in many parts of the world to help diversify cropping systems. The quality and uses for camelina oil, however, might vary depending on where it is grown. We collaborated with several scientists from North America and Europe to study the impact of environment including weather variables on the seed and seed oil quality of winter camelina. Camelina was grown in six different, diverse environments in Poland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Canada, and USA, and seeds were harvested for analysis. Seed size and oil content generally increased under mild winter conditions and growing seasons with an even precipitation distribution pattern like Poland, while these same traits decreased under warmer, drier environments like Spain. Oil unsaturation and the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, suited for healthy food uses, increased under cool growing season conditions like Canada; whereas, oil saturation increased in warmer growing environments like Greece and Spain, which may be better suited for biofuels and bioproducts. Results will benefit growers and specialty oil industries for targeting the best regions to produce camelina and will provide researchers including crop breeders with a better understanding of how environment impacts oilseed quality.

Technical Abstract: Winter camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz], a multifunctional oilseed crop, offers the potential to sustainably diversify cropping systems across the USA and Europe. However, to promote winter camelina as a wide-spread sustainable and profitable crop, it is imperative to know how different environmental conditions in various regions impact its seed oil content and fatty acid (FA) composition. The objective of this study was to compare the seed qualitative traits [i.e., 1000-seed weight (TKW), seed oil, FA content, and FA saturation] of a winter biotype camelina genotype, Joelle, grown across six different environments (Poland, Italy, Greece, Canada, USA, and Spain). Winter camelina seed qualitative traits varied significantly across all environments. Average TKW across regions ranged from 0.77-1.07 g, with the heaviest and the lightest seeds produced in Poland and Spain, respectively. Joelle seed oil content varied across locations from 35.1 to 41.9%. A significant and negative correlation between seed oil content and accumulated growing degree days (GDD) from sowing to harvest demonstrated that environments with a short growing cycle and high temperatures depressed seed oil content. Joelle seed TKW, oil content, linolenic (C18:3) content, and omega-3/omega-6 FA ratio (n-3/n-6) were promoted when grown in environments with prolonged growing seasons and even precipitation distribution. Results indicate that growing conditions should be carefully considered for the future upscale production of camelina as prevailing climate variables will likely influence seed quality, thus affecting the suitability for various end-uses.