Seed Priming with Sulfhydral Thiourea Enhances the Performance of Camelina sativa L. under Heat Stress Conditions

Temperature is a key factor influencing plant growth and productivity; however, temperature fluctuations can cause detrimental effects on crop growth. This study aimed to assess the effect of seed priming on Camelina sativa L. under heat stress. Experimental treatments were comprised of; seed priming including, no-priming, hydropriming (distilled water priming), and osmopriming (thiourea applications at 500 ppm), heat stress (control = 20 °C and heat stress = 32 °C), and camelina varieties (7126 and 8046). Heat stress hammered crop growth as relative water content and photosynthetic rate were reduced by 35.9% and 49.05% in 7126, respectively, and 25.6% and 41.2% in 8046 as compared with control-no thiourea applied. However, osmopriming with thiourea improved the root and shoot length, and biomass production compared to control–no application under heat stress, with more improvement in variety 8046 as compared with 7126. Moreover, the maximum values of gas exchange and water relations were recorded at thiourea priming and no stress as compared with no-priming under heat stress that helped to improve seed yield by 12% in 7126 and 15% in 8046, respectively. Among the varieties, camelina variety 8046 showed better performance than 7126 by producing higher seed yield especially when subjected to thiourea priming. In conclusion, thiourea seed priming helped the plants to mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress by upregulating plant physiological attributes that lead to maintain camelina seed yield.

An Assessment of in vitro Antioxidant Potential of Camelina sativa L. Seed Oil and Estimation of Tocopherol Content using HPTLC Method

The present study was aimed to analyze the physicochemical properties of Camelina sativa L. seed oil in order to identify its utilization as a primary feedstock for biofuel production. Efforts were also made to identify and quantify the amount of α- tocopherols in Camelina seed oil and evaluated in vitro antioxidant potential of Camelina sativa seed oil and were compared with α–tocopherol standard. Physicochemical properties such as oil yield content (36.66 %), less acid value (5.39 mg KOH/g) make it a prominent feedstock for biodiesel production. Saponification value (182.66 mg KOH/g) also makes this oil useful in soap and cosmetic industries. To check in vitro antioxidant potential of Camelina seed oil H2O2, DPPH and ABTS were used as free radical inducers. Oil showed remarkable inhibition potential of trapping these free radicals. Tocopherol content was analyzed through HPTLC. Camelina sativa seed oil was found to contain 59.34 mg/100 g of tocopherol content. It is evident from this study that Camelina oil has high antioxidant potential and there is no need to add other antioxidant substances in the products formed by using Camelina sativa seed oil.

Agronomic Response of Camelina to Nitrogen and Seeding Rate on the Northern Great Plains

Camelina (Camelina sativa L. Crantz,) a new oilseed crop in the Brassicaceae family has favorable agronomic traits and multiple food and industrial uses. Appropriate production practices for optimal camelina yield in temperate climates of North America are lacking. This study investigated the response of camelina seed yield and quality, and agronomic traits to applied N (5 levels, 0, 28, 56, 84, 140 kg ha−1) and four seeding rates (4.5, 9, 13, 17.5 kg ha−1). Separate experiments were conducted at four environments (site-years) for N and three environments for seeding rate in South Dakota. In three of the four environments, the highest N rate increased seed yield by 30 to 60% compared to the control. The increase in seed yield with increasing N rate was linear in a high yielding environment and quadratic in a low yielding environment. Increasing seeding rate increased plant stands but had inconsistent impacts on seed yield depending on location and year. Seed oil concentration ranged from 149 to 350 g kg−1, was inversely related to N rate but was not influenced by seeding rate.

COMPARISON OF CAMELINA SEED YIELD AND BIOMASS PRODUCTION IN CONTRASTING ENVIRONMENTS

The most of the research work on camelina has been carried out in northern America and continental Europe. Two breeding groups (IFVCNS and BOKU) and one group focusing on the agronomy (DISTAL) just recently started research activities focusing on the development of new genotypes more adapted for southern regions of Europe. Common field trials, with 2 camelina lines selected by IFVCNS and 6 lines selected by BOKU were established at Bologna, Italy and at Rimski Šančevi, Serbia. Newly developed camelina lines were found to be highly adapted to Bologna environment, being able to achieve sustained seed yield in spite of delayed sowing and higher temperatures during pod filling period.

Nitrogen and sulfur application effects on camelina seed yield, fatty acid composition, and nutrient removal

Effective management of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) in camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] production is important to ensure optimum seed yield and oil composition. The objectives of this study were to determine camelina seed yield, oil concentration, estimate nutrient removal and N use efficiency as influenced by N and S application. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate S rates (0 and 20 kg ha-1) and N fertilizer rates (0, 22, 45 and 90 kg ha-1) effect on camelina productivity and fatty acid composition over two growing seasons (2014 and 2015). Results showed S application had no effect on seed yield and oil concentration. Averaged across N rates, protein concentration increased with S application compared to the control. Seed yield showed quadratic response to N fertilizer application with maximum yield occurring at 54 kg N ha-1. However, economic optimum N rate ranged from 18 to 43 kg N ha-1. Nutrient removal, protein concentration, protein and oil yield, and estimated biodiesel was maximum at 45 kg N ha-1. The maximum amounts of N, phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and S removed were 49, 8, 10, and 7 kg ha-1, respectively. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and agronomic efficiency (NAE) decreased when N fertilizer rates were above 22 kg N ha-1. Application of N or S had no effect on proportions of saturated fatty acid (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Our findings suggest camelina required 18 to 43 kg N ha-1 when grown in rain-fed systems in water-limited environments.