Agronomic performance of camelina genotypes selected for seed yield and quality characteristics in eastern China

Abstract

Camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] has gained extensive attention in Europe and North America as a potential dietary oil and biofuel feedstock. It is a relatively new crop in Asia (e.g., China, Korea). There is great potential for the cropping of camelina in eastern China on marginal lands where the climatic conditions (e.g., cooler temperature) may be suitable for cultivating this crop. However, little has been done to evaluate its agronomic performance in eastern China. To address this, a three-year (2019–2021) field study was conducted to evaluate the effect of fall and spring seeding dates on seed yield and quality of sixteen spring camelina genotypes across the three different growing environments in eastern China and to select potentially high-yielding genotypes for fall or spring seeding with the suitable seeding dates for each growing environment. The study showed that fall seeding camelina between late Oct. and the third week of Nov. in eastern China, including Anyang, Qingdao, and Yangzhou, produced a sustainable and satisfactory seed and oil yield (mean across genotypes, locations, and years: 2372 and 921 kg ha−1, respectively). While spring seeding between mid- and the end of April at Qingdao showed a lower productive performance (mean seed and oil yield across genotypes: 1081 and 373 kg ha−1, respectively), it still provides an alternative option for the production of high-quality edible oil compared to other oilseed crops such as soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. Although the strong genotype × environment interactions showed, among the tested camelina genotypes, fall seeding camelina accessions of CamK9, CamC2, and CamC4 at the suitable seeding dates showed a consistently greater mean seed yield (range: 1648–3170 kg ha−1) and oil yield (747–1368 kg ha−1) in all test locations compared to other genotypes. At the suitable fall seeding dates, mean seed oil content and yield across the tested genotypes and locations were 43.5% (range: 39.0–48.9%) and 856 kg ha−1 (range: 161–1489 ha−1), respectively, with the highest mean oil content of 45.9% determined at Yangzhou (range: 43.6–48.9%) and the highest mean seed yield of 2539 kg ha−1 at Qingdao (range: 1365–3501 kg ha−1). The camelina genotypes indicated would be good candidates for large-scale cropping in eastern China and other parts of the world with similar climatic conditions.