Plant establishment, yield and yield components of Brassicaceae oilseeds as potential biofuel feedstock

Citation

Hossain, Z., Johnson, E.N., Wang, L., Blackshaw, R.E., Cutforth, H., Gan, Y. (2019). Plant establishment, yield and yield components of Brassicaceae oilseeds as potential biofuel feedstock. Industrial Crops and Products, [online] 141 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.111800

Plain language summary

Increasing demand for renewable energy, such as biofuel, is spurring great interest to find productive feedstock for biofuel production. In a nine site-year study, major Brassicaceae oilseeds grown on the Canadian prairie - oriental mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.], canola (Brassica napus L.), camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz], Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun), and yellow mustard (Sinapis alba L.) – were evaluated for their potential as feedstock sources. The plant establishment, seed yield, yield components, and water use efficiency of these oilseeds across diverse environments were determined. Preceding crops had a significant impact on the performance of oilseeds in the following year. Plant establishment were higher when the oilseeds were grown in chem-fellow than in wheat stubble. Canola had highest emergence rate (57.2%) and highest seed yield (3092 kg ha−1) among the oilseeds evaluated. Plant density and pods plant−1 had a strong relationship with seed yield for all the oilseeds; the number of seeds pod−1 and weight seed−1 contributed to seed yield significantly for the oilseeds except oriental mustard and carinata. The growing season temperatures affected seed yield and yield components significantly although the magnitude varied with crop species. Under the semiarid Canadian prairie conditions, canola was most efficient in water use (9.04 kg seed yield ha-1  mm−1) and yellow mustard and camelina were least efficient. The multiple site-years of assessment indicates that canola is the most efficient feedstock source for biofuel uses, while juncea mustard and carinata could be considered as potential alternatives.

Abstract

Increasing demand for renewable energy, such as biofuel, is spurring great interest to find productive feedstock for biofuel production. In a nine site-year study, major Brassicaceae oilseeds grown on the Canadian prairie - oriental mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.], canola (Brassica napus L.), camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz], Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun), and yellow mustard (Sinapis alba L.) – were evaluated for their potential as feedstock sources. The plant establishment, seed yield, yield components, and water use efficiency of these oilseeds across diverse environments were determined. Preceding crops had a significant impact on the performance of oilseeds in the following year. Plant establishment were higher when the oilseeds were grown in chem-fellow than in wheat stubble. Canola had highest emergence rate (57.2%) and highest seed yield (3092 kg ha−1) among the oilseeds evaluated. Plant density and pods plant−1 had a strong relationship with seed yield for all the oilseeds; the number of seeds pod−1 and weight seed−1 contributed to seed yield significantly for the oilseeds except oriental mustard and carinata. The growing season temperatures affected seed yield and yield components significantly although the magnitude varied with crop species. Under the semiarid Canadian prairie conditions, canola was most efficient in water use (9.04 kg seed yield ha-1 mm−1) and yellow mustard and camelina were least efficient. The multiple site-years of assessment indicates that canola is the most efficient feedstock source for biofuel uses, while juncea mustard and carinata could be considered as potential alternatives.

Publication date

2019-12-01

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