Seed Oil Yield Research Articles

Exploring drivers of within‐field crop yield variation using a national precision yield network

Abstract While abiotic drivers of yields represent important limiting factors to crop productivity, the role of biotic drivers that could be directly managed by farmers (e.g. agri‐environment schemes supporting key ecosystem services) remains poorly understood. Precision yield mapping provides an opportunity to understand the factors that limit agricultural yield through the interpretation of high‐resolution cropping data. This has the potential to inform future precision agricultural management, such as the targeted application of agrochemicals, promoting increased sustainability in modern agricultural systems. We used precision yield measurements from a network of 1174 fields in England (2006–2020) to identify drivers of within‐field yield variation in winter wheat and oilseed rape. Potential drivers included climate, topography and landscape composition and configuration. We then explored relationships between in‐field yield patterns and local landscape context, including the presence of features associated with ecosystem benefits. Proximity to the field edge was associated with reduced yields in 85% of wheat and 87% of oilseed fields. This translating to an approximate reduction of 10% in wheat and 18% in oilseed yields lost due to field edge effects. We found evidence that reduced yields at the field edges were associated with biotic features of the surrounding landscape, including the occurrence of semi‐natural habitats. Specifically, agri‐environment scheme (AES) presence increased the rate at which yields at field edges approach those of the field centres. This suggests that AES occurrence within a landscape (rather than field adjacent) may increase edge effects. However, these trends are unclear and suggest interactions between drivers and the spatial and temporal scale of investigation. Synthesis and applications. While we found evidence of landscape context mitigating against field edge effects, these were counterintuitive. For example, AES at a landscape scale appeared to increase the severity of edge effects. This study highlights a lack of environmental data at sufficiently high spatiotemporal resolution to match that of precision agriculture data. This mismatch is hindering the effective integration of precision agriculture data in an environmental policy and/or management context and potentially leading to unnecessarily poorly informed decisions related to AES deployment. This may limit environmental and economic benefits.

Optimasi Ekstraksi Minyak Kulit Biji Mete Dengan Metode Microwave Assisted Extraction (MAE)

In the processing of cashew nuts (Anacardium Occidentale L.) cashew seeds will be produced and the by-product is cashew nut shell. Cashew nut shells contain oil or cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL). Cashew nut shell oil is used in the pharmaceutical industry as an anti-cancer agent and also in the industrial sector as a raw material for car brake oil. The purpose of this study was to study the optimum conditions for extracting cashew nut shell oil using microwave assisted extraction (MAE). Optimization is determined by the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) method to see the relationship between the influential variables, namely temperature (50, 63, 75oC) and time (2, 6, 10 minutes). Anarchic acid contained in cashew seed oil at optimum conditions was analyzed using Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectroscopy (GC – MS). From the optimization of the yield of cashew seed shell oil extraction, it was found that the optimum conditions were at extraction time of 31.7 minutes and temperature of 68.50C with cashew seed oil yield of 41.27%. Analysis of cashew seed oil at optimum yield using GC-MS found that the anarchic acid content was 30.11%.

Estimation of Yield and Stability of Some Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) Hybrids under Rain -Fed and Irrigated Conditions of Sudan

Fifteen sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) hybrids were evaluated at four environments (two environments under rain fed and the other two under irrigation conditions) for two consecutive summer seasons (2013 and 2014). The hybrids were tested to estimate their adaptability and stability performance for seed yield and seed oil yield at Sinnar State, Sudan. The experiment over all environments was laid in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The analysis of variance procedure revealed highly significant differences for seed yield and seed oil yields among hybrids and environments. Significant differences were observed for hybrids (G), environments (E) and G x E interaction for both seed yield and seed oil yield. Stability analysis after Eberhart and Russell’s model suggested that the hybrids used in this study were all, more or less, responsive to environmental changes. Most of the hybrids performed better in E1 and E2 (Allkandi). Stability analysis with their parameters (grand mean, regression coefficient a nd deviation from regression) identified five hybrids; Pan-7057, Ausigold61, Ausigold7, Hysun-33 and Pan-7033 as the most stable hybrids for seed yield and seed oil yields, since their regression coefficients were close to the value of one (bi=1) and had the lowest deviation from regression (S2di=0) and were stable and adapted to favorable environments. In contrast, three hybrids; SFH 301, Aguara-4 and SFH 304, with regression coefficients greater than one, were regarded as sensitive to environmental changes for seed yield and seed oil yield and were stable and adapted to unfavorable environments.

Economic Assessment and State Regulation of the Agri-industrial Sector in Ukraine: Solutions for Ensuring Food Security (Modeling and Analysis)

The paper studies the dynamics of the relative production and consumption of the main agricultural crops in Ukrainian enterprises for 2017- 2021 years, in particular sunflower. The issues and provisions given in it may be used to analyze existing theoretical positions. Because of aggressive invasion of Russia, Ukraine suffers significant losses in agricultural production. This situation has a negative impact on the provision of agricultural food and food security around the world. In 2022, the war prevented Ukraine from sowing all areas of crops, which in fact, according to various estimates, range from 50% to 75%. Therefore, the issue of providing agricultural products not only to Ukraine, but also to those who import Ukrainian sunflower crops and other crops is of practical interest. In this work the relationship between the volume of sunflower gross harvest and its sown areas on many years research data – more than thirty years has been estimated on the basis of correlation-regression modeling. According to FAO estimates, 25-30% of fields in the 2022-2023 season may be unsown or unharvested in Ukraine. In addition, crop yields are expected to decline. According to some experts, in 2022 in Ukraine the sown area is less than 80% of last year’s figures, and the total sown area has decreased to 3 million hectares. In this work on the basis of the analytical method the forecast of productivity in the conditions of military aggression of Russia against Ukraine at change of sown territories on an example of oilseeds is formed. It is established that price instability restrains the intensification, which increases the yield of oilseeds, but the degree of risk increases too. A set of measures for economic stimulation of agricultural cultivation of oilseeds has been developed, the foundations for the development of partnerships between the state and agrarian business and the population have been formed.

Inheritance of traits related to yield and fatty acid profile of winter squash seed oil

The objective of this study was to determine the inheritance of traits related to seed oil yield and fatty acid profile components and to estimate the genetic relationships between these traits in Cucurbita moschata D. This study assessed six generations derived from crosses between parents with contrasting traits under study. F1 plants were obtained from the crossing between BGH 7319 (P1) and ‘Tronco Verde’ (P2), which were subsequently self-fertilized to obtain the F2 generation. F1 plants were also backcrossed with the P1 and P2 parents to obtain the BC1 and BC2 generations, respectively. In general, additive effects were predominant for most of the traits, and thus, the development of inbred lines is the recommended strategy for genetic improvement of these traits. Dominance effects were significant even under low expression. This demonstrates that the performance of progeny tests throughout the selfing generations will enable the distinction between genotypes, thus providing greater efficiency in selection and, consequently, greater genetic gains. In addition, overdominance was observed in oil content; therefore, the development of hybrids with genotypes causing high oil content is attainable. In general, the estimates of genetic correlations had a high magnitude and were favorable to the increase in functional oil productivity, associated with better quality of fatty acid profiles. Recurrent intrapopulation selection aimed at the development of open-pollinated varieties with high productivity, associated with greater stability of the functional oil in C. moschata, may be useful.

Purple acid phosphatase2 stimulates a futile cycle of lipid synthesis and degradation, and mitigates the negative growth effects of triacylglycerol accumulation in vegetative tissues.

Storage lipids (mostly triacylglycerols, TAGs) serve as an important energy and carbon reserve in plants, and hyperaccumulation of TAG in vegetative tissues can have negative effects on plant growth. Purple acid phosphatase2 (PAP2) was previously shown to affect carbon metabolism and boost plant growth. However, the effects of PAP2 on lipid metabolism remain unknown. Here, we demonstrated that PAP2 can stimulate a futile cycle of fatty acid (FA) synthesis and degradation, and mitigate negative growth effects associated with high accumulation of TAG in vegetative tissues. Constitutive expression of PAP2 in Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced both lipid synthesis and degradation in leaves and led to a substantial increase in seed oil yield. Suppressing lipid degradation in a PAP2-overexpressing line by disrupting sugar-dependent1 (SDP1), a predominant TAG lipase, significantly elevated vegetative TAG content and improved plant growth. Diverting FAs from membrane lipids to TAGs in PAP2-overexpressing plants by constitutively expressing phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase1 (PDAT1) greatly increased TAG content in vegetative tissues without compromising biomass yield. These results highlight the potential of combining PAP2 with TAG-promoting factors to enhance carbon assimilation, FA synthesis and allocation to TAGs for optimized plant growth and storage lipid accumulation in vegetative tissues.

Reaction of sunflower varieties and hybrids to weather conditions and their adaptability parameters

In regions with contrasting weather conditions, which include the Saratov region, it is necessary to conduct selection and evaluate breeding material not only in terms of productivity, but also in terms of adaptability to abiotic environmental factors. The experimental part was carried out on the experimental field of the Federal Agricultural Research Center for South-East Region in 2015–2021. There were 10 genotypes in the study, which were evaluated by the ability to form the highest productivity in different years in terms of moisture and heat supply. The HTC in the years of research was as follows: 2015 - 0.61, 2016 - 0.47, 2017 - 0.95, 2018 - 0.52, 2019 - 0.6, 2020 - 0.83, 2021 - 0.58. The coefficient of variation, stress resistance and genetic flexibility, the drought resistance index, and the coefficient of responsiveness to favorable growing conditions were indicators of adaptability. According to long-term data, the average yield of oilseeds of the studied varieties and hybrids varied from 1.98 to 2.54 t/ha. In some years, the yield of varieties Saratovskiy 20, Stepnoy 81, Stepnoy 82, Lyubimchik and hybrid YuVS 7 exceeded 3.0 t/ha. In 9 out of 10 varieties and hybrids, a high variability of the trait is noted (V = 21.7-33.1%). The average yield variability was found in the UVS 3 hybrid (V = 19.1%). Varieties Stepnoy 81, Lyubimchik are characterized by high genetic flexibility ((Ymin + Ymax)/2 = 2.50 and 2.75, respectively) and responsiveness to favorable environmental conditions (Kp = 2.52 and 2.23, respectively). The hybrid YuVS 3 is characterized by high stress resistance (Ymin + Ymax = -1.15) and drought resistance (DSI = 0.92). High genetic flexibility ((Ymin + Ymax)/2 = 2.45) and drought resistance (DSI = 0.98) had SVS 7. It is advisable to include varieties and hybrids with high adaptive properties in the further breeding process as initial material.

Deciphering the quality and yield of heteromorphic seeds of marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) under high temperatures in the Eastern Mediterranean region

Seed heteromorphism, which has different dormancy and germination behavior, is vital under hostile environments such as high temperatures and drought. Seed morphs of marigold were investigated in order to examine the seed heteromorphism, which correlates with environmental variability. A field experiment was conducted on 3 different planting dates (March 1st, March 15th, and April 1st, 2020) in the hot ecological conditions of the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey. The results of this study revealed significant variations in the agronomic traits and fatty acid composition of heteromorphic marigold seeds. When the general averages were considered, the highest values for all of the studied traits were obtained from the March 1st planting date, except for the seed oil content. The seed yields and the number of seeds decreased significantly on late plantings that were more exposed to high-temperature stress. Six distinct morphs were found in the marigold seeds, comprising balloon-like, balloon-like with spines, insect-leg, winged, curved, and ring-like. The findings clearly indicated that the seed oil yield was highest in the balloon-like with spines and ring-like seed shapes. The major oil components of the heteromorphic marigold seeds were linoleic acid (37.55%–41.47%), oleic acid (21.04%–27.37%), and α-calendic acid (15.54%–22.09%). The most common seed, ring-like shaped, may play a key role in the intensive agriculture of the plant in terms of some features such as dormancy, dispersal, and cultivation techniques. As a consequence, even if multiple gradual harvests can be made in this region where global warming and climate change is felt more clearly, the marigold plants exhibited fewer capitula for the late planting dates and the ratio of seed heteromorphism changed.

Acidic and enzymatic pre-treatment effects on cold-pressed pumpkin, terebinth and flaxseed oils

Oil yield and the properties of oil can be improved with various enzymatic pre-treatments before obtaining oil from oilseeds by cold-press extraction. A commercial mixture of pectolytic enzymes was used in this study. In addition, apple seed meal as a source of β-glucosidase enzyme and citric acid were applied to oilseeds (pumpkin, terebinth and flaxseed) as pre-treatments. The results were evaluated by comparing the effects of the pre-treatments on oil yield and properties. Enzyme preparate could increase the oil yield of pumpkin seeds (~300%) and flaxseed (151%). Significant increases in the phenolic contents of terebinth (from 91.67 to 319.33 mg GAE/kg) and flaxseed oils (from 12.03 to 40.47 mg GAE/kg) were achieved by citric acid and enzymatic pre-treatments. These two pre-treatments were also effective in terms of peroxide formation and oxidative stability in terebinth oil. With the help of the pre-treatments applied to oilseeds it was possible to increase the transition of phenolics from seeds to oil for terebinth oil with increase ratios of 245% for citric acid, 248% for the enzymatic process compared to the control.

Transcriptome Analysis and GC-MS Profiling of Key Fatty Acid Biosynthesis Genes in Akebia trifoliata (Thunb.) Koidz Seeds.

Simple SummaryPlant oil is an important renewable energy substance, and A. trifoliata seeds are of value in this regard. A. trifoliata fruits have many seeds with high oil content, but research progress on A. trifoliata seed oil is slow. Fatty acid biosynthesis is the most important factor affecting plant oil content. Therefore, analysis of the key genes for fatty acid biosynthesis is beneficial for breeding A. trifoliata varieties with high oil content. Here, we report changes in seed oil and key oil biosynthesis genes in the growth period of A. trifoliata based on transcriptome analysis. We found that the development of A. trifoliata seeds and fruits was not synchronized, and when the fruit was ripe, the seed oil content was not the highest. With the development of A. trifoliata seeds, linoleic and oleic acid content was found to decrease and increase, respectively. Subsequently, several key genes for oil biosynthesis in A. trifoliata were identified. These results further our understanding of the mechanism underlying oil biosynthesis in A. trifoliata seeds.Akebia trifoliata (Thunb.) Koidz is an important Chinese medicinal and economic crop. Its seeds, which are rich in fatty acids, are usually discarded. As of now, A. trifoliata lipid biosynthesis pathways and genes have not been clearly described. In this work, we found that seed and fruit development of A. trifoliata were not synchronized, and that when the fruit was ripe, seed oil content was not at its highest. As seeds developed, linoleic and oleic acid content was found to decrease and increase, respectively. RNA sequencing yielded 108.45 GB of clean reads from 15 cDNA libraries, containing 8756 differentially expressed genes. We identified 65 unigenes associated with lipid biosynthesis, including fatty acid and triacylglycerol biosynthesis. The 65 unigenes were mapped to the A. trifoliata lipid synthesis pathway. There were 20 AtrFAD family members in A. trifoliata, which could be divided into four sub-groups with the highest number of AtrSADs. Our study revealed the dynamic changes in A. trifoliata seed oil content and composition during its growth period and provides large-scale and comprehensive transcriptome data of A. trifoliata seeds. These findings provide a basis for the improvement of A. trifoliata seed oil yield and quality.

The role of industrial enterprises in ensuring food security

This article highlights the role of industrial enterprises in ensuring food security. The main features of the agro-industrial cluster based on production cooperation and the distribution of land allocated for total oilseeds in Kashkadarya region were analyzed. The analysis of the yield of oilseeds in the Republic of Uzbekistan and Kashkadarya region and the efficiency of cultivation of raw cotton on farms in Kashkadarya region were analyzed. The analysis of the efficiency of the crop grown on the farm "Kholiyor Bobo ogli Kholmomin" Yakkabag district of Kashkadarya region and the efficiency of the sunflower grown on the farm "Kuvatov Shakhboz Shukhratovich" Shahrisabz district of Kashkadarya region. In addition, conclusions and recommendations on ways to develop production cooperation between enterprises of agriculture and processing industry were developed.

Identifying patterns in the fatty-acid composition of safflower depending on agroclimatic conditions

The object of the study reported in this paper is to establish a dependence of the fatty acid composition of the fast-growing annual plant safflower on the agroclimatic cultivating conditions. The growth rate of safflower and the characteristics of the extracted oil are highly dependent on external temperature and moisture. At low temperatures, for example, the growth of safflower is significantly inhibited. With an increase in temperature and the length of daylight, the central stem begins to branch while growing faster. Flowering is mainly affected by the length of daylight. The period from the end of flowering to maturity is typically 28‒30 days. However, the total ripening period of the crop depends on the variety, location, sowing time, and agro-climatic cultivating conditions. The need for water increases significantly during the flowering period of safflower, which ultimately affects the indicators of the fatty acid composition and yield. At the same time, safflower is sensitive to moisture in terms of disease. In case of excess water, it is subject to root rot. In addition, frequent rains and high humidity after ripening can provoke the germination of seeds on the head. Hence, it follows that in order to obtain a high yield with the specified characteristics of the fatty acid composition of safflower oil, it is necessary to take into consideration the quantitative indicators of moisture and its seasonality, as well as the temperature regime during the growing season. The study was conducted using arid or semi-arid, sharply continental Central Asia with its hot summers and cold winters as an example. The dependence of the physicochemical parameters of plant-derived oils on agroclimatic indicators has been established. The reported results and conclusions will allow farmers to predict the yield of oilseeds with specified characteristics depending on the changing climatic parameters

Responses of Canola Morphological and Agronomic ‎Characteristics to Potassium Sulfate Fertilization under ‎Drought Stress

ABSTRACT In order to reduce the damage caused by late-season drought stress of canola, a factorial split plot experiment was performed on the basis of the randomized complete blocks design with three replications in Karaj, Iran. The treatments were Potassium sulfate in two levels, including application and non-application of potassium sulfate, irrigation at three levels including normal irrigation (control), restricted irrigation from the flowering and pod formation stage, as factorial were in main plots and winter canola cultivars including Opera, L72, KR1, GKH3705, GKH0224 were in subplots. The interaction effect of potassium sulfate × irrigation × cultivar on plant height, number of pods per the main stem, number of pods per branch, number of pods per plant, seed yield, and seed oil yield was significant at the 1% level. In conditions of applying potassium sulfate and irrigation interruption from the flowering stage, Opera cultivar had the highest seed yield with a mean of 3715 kg ha−1. In conditions of not applying potassium sulfate and under normal irrigation (control), the promising line of L72 with a mean of 6169 kg ha−1, and in the late season drought stress (irrigation interruption from the pod formation and flowering stages), the opera cultivar with the means of 4763 and 3468 kg ha−1 had the highest seed yield.

The expediency of crop production in conditions of risky farming

The article presents a comprehensive author’s study of the problem of the feasibility of cultivating crops in the zone of risky farming, which includes ¾ of our country, when the impact of weather disasters and anomalies is associated with the risk of obtaining a crop and, accordingly, sources of financing for further activities. With the help of the formed system of indicators, an assessment is made of the dynamics and variations in the level and efficiency of the intensification of grain and oilseed production. In this regard, of particular interest is the criterion of expediency, which, in our opinion, in the conditions of constantly impending financial crises, should ensure the very possibility of the continued existence and functioning of an agricultural enterprise. The analysis was carried out and the trend in the yield of grain and oilseeds in the Saratov region was revealed, the degree of influence of weather and anthropogenic factors on its dynamics was determined. Considered production and economic indicators for microzones and administrative districts of the region; the grouping and classification of municipalities according to the effectiveness of the analyzed types of activities was carried out; the actual values of performance indicators were compared with the normative ones, which makes it possible to judge the degree of tension in the use of enterprise resources. A stochastic model is proposed and an assessment is made of the degree of influence of the main production factors on the variation in the value of the chosen criterion of expediency. The need for research on the regulation of labor and its tariffing in agricultural production is noted. The problematic aspects of grain and oilseed production in the context of individual territories have been identified, a number of aspects have been identified that can influence the adoption of an objective decision on the feasibility of production activities.

Dynamics of Oilseeds Production and Decomposition of output Components of Oilseeds in Bihar

India is the fourth largest producer of oilseeds and accounts for about 15-20 percent of global oilseeds area, 6-7 percent vegetable oil production and 9-10 percent of total edible oils consumption. Among different oilseeds, groundnut, rapeseed-mustard and soyabean accounts for about 80 percent of area and 87 percent of production of oilseed in the country during 2018-19. Currently, share of oilseeds are 14% of the total area under major crops. Day by day, the demand for consumption of vegetable oil is increasing in Bihar but the area under cultivation of oilseeds is decreasing. In Bihar, the area under cultivation of oilseeds was 228.3 thousand hectares in 1986-87 and it has decreased to 113.14 thousand hectares in 2019-20. This paper investigates the trends in area, production and yield of oilseeds in the State of Bihar. The study period was from 1990-91 to 2019-20 and it had divided into 3 periods: 1990-91 to 1999-2000, 2000-01 to 2009-10 and 2010-11 to 2019-20 to have an understanding of decadal performance. The results clearly showed that the growth rate performance of area, production and yield of oilseed in the region declined sharply from period 1 to 3. The study witnessed that more than half of the area under the crop in the State suffered from low growth rate in area. The comparison of production growth rates of all the major oilseeds revealed that Sunflower showed better performance followed by rapeseed and mustard, During the study period from 1990-91 to 2019-20, only yield (2.02%) showed positive growth rate whereas area (-2.6%) and production (-0.62%) showed negative growth rate. The decomposition analysis of growth suggests that sources of output growth in Bihar was the same in all the three periods as the major contribution was yield effect followed by area effect. Reduction in yield gap and adoption of new technology can improve Bihar as well as India’s oilseeds production and make India self-sufficient in oilseeds production and consumption.

Technology and rules for storing oilseeds in the Belgorod region

In the work, the terms and modes of sunflower storage were determined. The state of sown areas and the yield of oilseeds have been analyzed. It has been established that sunflower seeds with a moisture content of no more than 7.0% and an infestation of no more than 2.0% should be laid for long-term storage. It was revealed that for temporary storage (for a period of up to 1 month) - sunflower seeds with a moisture content of no more than 9.0% and an infestation of no more than 3.0%, provided they are actively ventilated. Sunflower seeds with a moisture content of more than 7.0% should be stored at currents for no more than 1 day. The norms of natural loss of sunflower seeds during storage have been studied; they depend on the variety, method and period (3, 6 months and 1 year) of storage of batches of sunflower seeds. It is proposed to consider that the guaranteed shelf life of sunflower seeds is six months from the date of storage. After the expiration of the guaranteed storage period, the quality of the seeds must be checked for compliance with the standard; in case of positive results of the analysis, the storage period is extended.

The influence of tillage methods on the yield of oilseeds of the Brassicaceae family

The analysis of productivity studies of spring oilseeds of the Brassicaceae family during their cultivation on gray forest soil in the crop rotation link in Ryazan region, Russia is proposed. The influence of variants of the main tillage on the yield of spring rape variety Ratnik and spring rape variety Lipchanka has been studied. The experiments were carried out in 2015-2020 on dark gray forest soils. Agrotechnical measures for the cultivation of spring oilseeds are typical for the Non-Black Earth Zone of Russia, which includes Ryazan region. On average, according to the research results, the highest yield in spring rape was recorded on the variant of the fallow link of the crop rotation + moldboard processing (3.13 t/ha), in the spring rape (2.56 t/ha). When determining the biological activity of the soil, the method of linen with a density of 150 g/m2 was used. In the experiment, on the variant with the moldboard method, when using a reversible plow, the degree of decomposition of the linen was the greatest in the experiment. In agrocenoses of agricultural crops, a pattern was noted for an increase in biological soil activity, in rape the degree of decomposition was recorded in 45.3 % and in spring coleseed it was 41.9 %.

Роль пропашных предшественников в контроле засоренности и увеличении урожайности семян рапса и сурепицы

Practice shows that the demand for oilseeds is currently very high. Having the potential of large processing capacities in the southern part of the Non-Black Earth Zone of Russia, oilseeds are in high demand, characterizing rapeseed and rape as high-margin crops in agricultural production. The study of the influence of row crop predecessors on the productivity of cruciferous oilseeds in the conditions of this region is interesting and relevant, which served to determine the direction of research. The article presents data on determining the effectiveness of predecessors on weediness, growth and development, productivity of agrocenoses of rapeseed and rape of spring forms. On the dark gray forest soils of the Ryazan region, the maximum yield of oilseeds of rape and rape was obtained on the variants where the predecessor potato was chosen (2.80 t / ha for rape, 2.68 t / ha for rape), the minimum yield of rape and rape was obtained from the predecessor of corn for grain (2.55; 2.44 t / ha, respectively). A direct dependence of the weediness of crops to the yield of oilseeds of the studied crops was revealed. Keywords: RAPESEED, MUGGY, PREDECESSORS, CLOGGING, YIELD, QUALITY

Changes in Seed and Shoot Essential Oil Yield of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) in Response to Practices of Integrated Nitrogen Management

Effects of different nitrogen nutritional systems (biologic, organic, and chemical fertilizers) on fennel were investigated in two cropping years (2013-2014 and 2014-2015) in a completely randomized blocks design. Treatments consisted of control or uniformly spreading 50% urea at planting time, and 50% at stem elongation (N1), uniformly spreading 50% of urea at planting time and spraying the other 50% of urea fertilizer at stem elongation on fennel foliage (N2), cow manure (N3), inoculation of fennel seeds with Azotobacter and Azospirillum (N4), N5 or Integrated-1 (N3 + uniformly spreading urea at stem elongation), N6 or Integrated-2 (N3 + N4). Findings showed that N2 has led to 13.4% and 14.3% more seed yield production than N1 for the first and second years, respectively. Also, the results indicated that N2 could produce 14.3% and 13.6% more essential oil yield than N1 for the first and second years of study, respectively. The main essential oil constituents were anethole, methyl chavicol, α-pinene, limonene, and fenchone. The results of this study showed that there was no positive effect of biofertilizers (Azotobacter and Azospirillum) application on fennel.

Tissue-specific transcriptomics reveals a central role of <i>CcNST1</i> in regulating the fruit lignification pattern in <i>Camellia chekiangoleosa</i>, a woody oil-crop

Fruit lignification is of significant economic importance because it affects the quality of fruit and the production of seed oil. The specified lignification pattern in<italic> Camellia</italic> <italic>chekiangoleosa</italic> fruits plays critical roles in its seed oil yield, but little is known about how this lignification process is regulated. Here, we report on a comprehensive tissue-specific transcriptomics analysis conducted for <italic>C.</italic> <italic>chekiangoleosa</italic> fruit. By mining the differentially expressed genes, we found that lignin biosynthesis and transcriptional regulation pathways were significantly enriched in the lignified tissues. The homolog of NST-like transcription factor, <italic>CcNST1</italic>, was highly expressed in lignified seed coat and endocarp tissues; transgenic analyses of <italic>CcNST1</italic> in <italic>Arabidopsis</italic> and hybrid poplar revealed the enhanced lignification levels of various tissues. Gene expression analysis of the transgenic lines uncovered potential downstream genes involved in the regulation of lignin biosynthesis. This work provides a valuable gene expression resource and identified the pivotal role of <italic>CcNST1</italic> in regulating the lignin biosynthesis underlying fruit lignification.