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Evaluation of Camelina Sativa as an Alternative Oilseed Crop
Crowley, J.G.
Crowley, J.G.
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1999-05-01
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Crowley, J.G., Evaluation of Camelina Sativa as an Alternative Oilseed Crop, End of Project Reports, Teagasc, 1999.
Abstract
The increasing awareness of the value of oils with a low content of saturated fat
and a high proportion of OMEGA-3 to OMEGA-6 type fatty acids has focused
attention on finding commercial sources of such oils. Camelina has been
identified as a useful plant source. Camelina (Camelina sativa), a member of the
mustard family, is an oilseed plant with both summer annual and winter hardy
biennial forms.
A series of field trials were conducted over a three-year period, as part of an EUsponsored
research programme across four countries. The objective was to
establish the potential of winter hardy varieties of camelina, grown without the use
of herbicides, fungicides or pesticides, as a commercial source of a high quality oil
for human consumption.
The study has shown that winter camelina cannot produce an economic yield in
Ireland where the use of herbicides and fungicides are excluded. The relatively
mild wet winters encountered in Ireland result in very high levels of weed
competition. The resultant dense, wet canopy encourages high levels of disease
infection and creates conditions where excessive lodging occurs early in the
season. The result is difficult harvesting conditions and low yields. The
herbicide Trifluralin (Treflan) incorporated into the seedbed before sowing was
identified as an effective herbicide for camelina. However, the full potential of
the winter crop, using herbicides and an effective disease control programme,
remains to be established.