Cover Photo: Harvesting of Camelina in 2017 by PhD Ana Marjanović, Institute for Field and Vegetable Crops, Serbia.
Camelina: A Forgotten Oil Crop for Sustainable Agriculture and Biodiesel
Camelina sativa L. is a relict agricultural oil plant species from the family Cruciferous or Brassicaceae.
- In the Balkans region, it is also known by the names better or wild flax, lanik, lanolik, podlanak, Siberian flax, and earlier, it was also called yolk.
- In Slovenia, it is known as navadniriček or toter
- In Hungarian, as magvasgomborka or sárgarepce;
- In English, as the gold of pleasure, fake flax, or German sesam, and
- In Germany, Leindotte.
Historical Significance and Decline of Camelina Cultivation
The Greek terms chamai, which means short, dwarf, and linion, are the origin of the word camelina. Camelina’s centers of origin are Southwest Asia and Southeast Europe, and in around 2000 B.C., during the Bronze Age, it was domesticated in the southeast of Europe. The plant was grown all over Europe during the Iron Age. The importance of flax as a crop decreased during the Middle Ages, although it was occasionally cultivated until the present era.
Camelina was farmed in Europe and Russia until the mid-1900s to produce oil. According to earlier works from the turn of the 20th century, the Camelina was a significant oil plant species in the northern Balkans until the start of World War II. During the mid-1900s, it was regular in most European countries to gradually replace this method of extracting oil with other plant species, mainly from sunflower and rapeseed. The primary cause is the simpler extraction process of the oil from sunflower and rapeseed.
Camelina's Resilience and Agricultural Uses and Benefits
Camelina has a high oil content that is rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids, especially OMEGA-3 fatty acids. It has a variety of environmental stability traits, like tolerance to salinity, drought, and cold stresses, which make it more susceptible to harsher environmental conditions and low-quality soils.
Camelina is quickly becoming the ideal alternative oilseed crop around the world. As a crop, it can be cultivated for two main purposes:
- Biodiesel production: Camelina has also been used to produce biodiesel across Canada, the US, Asia, and Europe. Between 2009 and 2012, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy successfully made a test flight with A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-22 Raptor, and F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets on a blend of standard jet fuel and camelina-based jet fuel. Similarly, commercial companies like KLM Dutch Royal Airlines and Japan Airlines have also performed successful test flights using a blend of standard jet fuel and camelina biodiesel. In 2009, Japan Airlines used a fuel derived from the oils of camelina (84%), jatropha (16%), and algae (one percent), blended with traditional kerosene fuel in one of the plane's four engines. After the flight, they confirmed that the biofuel was more fuel efficient than the 100% kerosene fuel, indicating that it may be both carbon neutral and cheaper to run, benefiting both the environment and the airline.
- In crop rotation schemes: Climate change has narrowed the number of plants that could be used in crop rotation, which was already mentioned on Wikifarmer. Compared to other oilseed crops, camelina shows a higher tolerance to pests and diseases that frequently affect oilseed crops. The only two things preventing camelina growth are heavy clay soils and protracted droughts during the sensitive growth stages, like sprouting and flowering. The fact that it endures marginal lands in today’s era is very important.
Photo: Harvesting of Camelina in 2017 by PhD Ana Marjanović, Institute for Field and Vegetable Crops, Serbia.
Recent Research and Findings on Camelina
In our research group, we have conducted many field trials with this crop, with over 50 varieties collected from breeding programs across the world.
We tested them in multiple locations across the Balkans and Austria, experimenting with different plant sowing timings and densities and growing camelina in organic and conventional farming systems.
The main aims of our studies were to provide a phenotypic evaluation and characterization of camelina genotypes, to identify the correlation between the agronomic traits, and to determine the effect of environmental factors on them. Additionally, we focused on determining and filing the seed yield (as a most important agronomic trait), the oil and protein content (as a lead technological quality trait), traits very important for selecting suitable genotypes for cultivation, and as a parental material for breeding processes.
Yield and Environmental Influence
In general, every growth season fits the semicontinental and semiarid climate. But, very often, lately, seasons differ greatly. The long-term averages that are typical of the Balkan climate were not deviated from by either the annual mean values of precipitation or air temperature in any of the cases. On the other hand, the primary environmental characteristic that distinguished these seasons from one to another was the distribution of precipitation. Our researchers also examined and analyzed the relationship between the chosen yield qualities and the impact of various environmental conditions on them. Although there was statistical significance for both main effects, more than 80% of the variance was often explained by the environmental conditions.
This indicates that camelina cultivars' yields are still unstable and greatly influenced by external variables, such as temperatures, precipitations, quality of the land, etc.
Even though the yield ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 t/ha, further breeding work should be done to stabilize yield and shift those percentages in favor of genotype (varieties) rather than environment factors.
- Drier years appear to be better for camelina plants because rainy years bring infections (Yellow Turnip virus) and unfavorable weather around harvest time.
- Compared to other oilseed crops, camelina is more tolerant to drought and low temperatures.
- The second environmental factor noted was the distinction between spring and autumn sowing. For all features, autumn seeding produced higher outcomes, but in years with unfavorable weather, the difference is less noticeable.
- When camelina plants have longer vegetation, they can reach their full genetic potential and produce more plant mass and yield.
- When compared to conventional and organic agriculture, the latter produced superior results. Organic production influenced more lateral branches on camelina plants, which is a beneficial characteristic for weed resistance. Based on these findings, we can say that, when compared to conventional production, camelina can be produced organically without suffering significant losses to the overall seed yield.
Climate change remains the greatest danger to sustainable agricultural output. Compared to other oilseed crops, camelina has a wide range of environmental adaptations, minimal input requirements, and a broad resistance to diseases and pests. For these reasons, this ancient and nearly forgotten species could be a valuable addition to the collection of oilseed crops.
Future Prospects for Camelina Cultivation
As can be observed, camelina can be advantageous to growers as well as consumers and has a wide range of uses in industry and feed. Given the variability in camelina's yield and yield traits, breeding programs for the crop have only recently started (due to the recent surge in interest in camelina as an alternative oil crop), despite the fact that camelina has a great deal of potential to be improved through future efforts.
Adjustments to plant height and the height of the first lateral branch may be necessary to reduce harvest losses and simplify future breeding plans. First and foremost, breeding is always the goal of plant architecture. Later, quality should be improved based on the intended outcome. Even though it appears like a difficult process, several institutions worldwide have been working for years to alter the appearance of this neglected crop.
RecropCOST action 22157 is the official partner with Wikifarmer and gathers scientists who stand at the forefront of combating the increasing threat of climate change to global food security.
Further scientific reading available:
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/5/858
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09064710.2021.1933162
Other Recrop projects:
How Epigenetics Can Help Farmers Grow Healthier and More Resilient Crops
The Importance of Crop Wild Relatives for Enhanced Plant Stress Resilience
Further reading:
Which are the forgotten crops?