Location: Weed and Insect Biology Research
Project Number: 3060-21220-033-028-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 16, 2024
End Date: Dec 31, 2026
Objective:
The objective of this project is to phenotype a subset of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of Camelina sativa (camelina) germplasm for agronomic traits (grain yield and seed size, freezing tolerance of both winter and spring biotypes, days to flowering and maturity, lodging, total seed oil content and fatty acid profiles) under field conditions. These RILs represent offspring from a cross between a winter (Joelle) and spring (C046) biotype of C. sativa that were advanced to the F7:F8 generation using single seed decent. The subset of RILs that will be evaluated under field conditions have already been evaluated under controlled conditions for freezing tolerance, thousand-gram seed weight, flowering time, total seed oil and fatty acid profiles. RILs showing promising agronomic traits will be considered for registration and public release.
Approach:
Approximately 40 camelina RILs developed at the USDA-ARS-ETSARC in Fargo, ND will be selected for field evaluations. RILs will be selected based on the following criteria:
1. freezing resistant spring biotypes with early days to flower and high thousand-gram seed weight (TSW).
2. freezing sensitive spring biotypes with early days to flower and high TSW.
3. freezing tolerant winter biotypes with early maturity and high TSW.
4. freezing sensitive winter biotypes with late flowering but high TSW.
5. the original spring (C046) and winter (Joelle) biotype parents will also be included as checks.
In Spring of 2024, each accession included in the subset of RILs to be evaluated will be hand planted in 1-meter rows at a seeding rate of 4.9 kg ha-1 at Fargo and Prosper, ND using a RCBD with 3 replications. Fertilizers will be applied as determined by soil sample analysis at each location and weeding will be done by hand. Measurements to be taken at each location include - stand counts, height, days to first flower, days to maturity, lodging, and shattering. Accessions planted in Spring 2024 will be harvested by hand at maturity and threshed seed will be further evaluated for seed yield and TSW, total oil and protein content, and fatty acid profiles. Winter accessions (10 – 20 accessions) planted in Fall 2024, only at Fargo, will be rated for winter survival/sensitivity and harvested at maturity in the late spring/early summer 2025 and evaluated for the agronomic traits listed for accessions planted in Spring 2024.
