Reducing linolenic acid content is one of the most important objectives for the development of Ethiopian mustard lines with high oil quality. This work was aimed at searching for variabihty of the fatty acid composition of oil within a germplasm collection of Ethiopian mustard. A total of 217 lines were analysed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) in 1991, and one was selected as having reduced values of both linolenic acid content (10.2% versus 14.0% of total fatty acids as the collection average) and linoleic acid desaturation ratio (LDR, 0.34 versus 0.45). After 3 years of pedigree selection for low linolenic acid content, this line showed, in 1995, average values of this fatty acid of 5.4% and 2.4% in two different environments, compared with 11.6% and 8.3%, respectively, in the control. The values of the LDR were 0.18 and 0.09, respectively, compared with 0.36 and 0.27 in the control Une.
Pennycress is an emerging oilseed crop, but some improved lines still exhibit seed dormancy that may impede germination and establishment. A laboratory study was conducted in 2021 to identify seed treatments to increase germination of a wild pennycress improved line (‘MN106NS’). A randomised complete block experimental design was used with two replications and 12 seed treatments: untreated control; fludioxonil (50 µg ai per g of seed); gibberellic acid (GA) soak at 0.05 or 0.01% w/w for 12 hours; pelleting with diatomaceous earth and a commercial binder ± each prior component and a carnauba wax coating. For all treatments, uniformity and stability of pelleted treatments were tested, and germination over time (3 to 14 days at 20°C in dark) was quantified. There were consistent increase, in weight and size (142% in weight and 29% in size on average) of seeds with pelleting, and pelleting combination treatments did not vary in stability. Total germination increased compared to the control with all seed treatments, except the addition of fludioxonil alone. While all pelleting treatments improved total germination, the use of GA as a soak treatment or as an addition during seed pelleting was most effective to increase germination in MN106NS.
In the U.S. Upper Midwest where growing seasons are short, establishing winter annual cover crops following corn (Zea mays L.) is challenging. Winter camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] shows promise as a winter annual cover crop that can be dual cropped with soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] to help diversify the cornsoybean rotation. This 2-yr field study in southern and western Minnesota evaluated desiccating corn with a preharvest aid to hasten its dry-down and hence harvest so that camelina could be no-till drilled in a timely manner. We hypothesized that direct drilling camelina following corn harvest would improve establishment and yields. Sodium chlorate was applied as a desiccant to corn at early (D1) and mid-R5 (D2) and physiological maturity (D3) stages of development, including an untreated check. The D1 and D2 treatments hastened corn harvest by 1 to 3 wk compared with the check. Corn grain yields were unaffected by the D2 and D3 treatments, but significantly declined by 16% in D1. Camelina seed yield did not differ among desiccation treatments and averaged 815 kg ha −1 across both locations with an average oil content of 385 g ka −1 . Desiccating corn hastened its harvest allowing more time to drill-seed camelina, thus improving establishment. However, more work is needed to improve management and genetics of winter camelina for use as a cash cover crop in corn systems.
Oilseed pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) establishment following grain corn (Zea mays L.) harvest in northern latitudes is challenging because of the short duration between corn harvest and soil freeze. The use of shorter season corn hybrids for a region may partly solve this challenge, but tradeoffs in reduced corn yield may be a concern. This study evaluated corn relative maturity (CRM) hybrids on pennycress establishment, seed and oil yields, and corn grain yield tradeoffs. The CRM hybrids ranged from 76‐ to 95‐day for northern sites (Morris and Rosemount, MN), and from 95‐ to 113‐day for the southern sites (Custar, OH, and Lexington, IL). The checks were full‐season corn (113‐ and 95‐day corn for the southern and the northern sites, respectively) harvested for silage. Pennycress plant density, green cover, and yield were generally greater when pennycress was seeded following silage corn due to early seeding and reduced corn stover. Pennycress seed yields ranged from 388 to 778, 641 to 834, 362 to 784, and 834 to 2038 kg ha−1 at Custar, Lexington, Morris, and Rosemount, respectively. The results showed that growing 86‐ and 105‐day grain corn in the northern and southern sites, respectively, facilitated timely pennycress establishment with little or no corn grain yield loss compared with full‐season hybrids. Developing pennycress varieties better suited for emergence under high corn stover or employing stover management practices to increase autumn emergence is suggested. Additionally, an economic analysis of the entire cropping sequence (corn–pennycress–soybean) is needed.
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