Natural variation in camelina nitrogen responses

Abstract

Camelina (Camelina sativa L.Crantz) is an oilseed crop with the potential to be planted for biofuel production. It is crucial to select camelina genotypes with higher nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) so that the superior cultivar has higher crop productivity. To select genotypes of camelina that exhibit higher biomass yield and nitrogen use efficiency, two field experiments were conducted in 2021 and 2022 in Sidney, MT with different nitrogen regimes, low (unfertilized) and high (fertilized). Distinct projects were carried out, one of them emphasizing canopy area and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the other focusing on biomass yield and NUE. The experiments highlighted the response of camelina to nitrogen application and the variation among genotypes. The study identified canopy image analysis effectively differentiated the canopy size and growth rate of camelina genotypes under two nitrogen regimes, demonstrating the influence of nitrogen on camelina growth. The NDVI measurement proved to be useful in evaluating plant health and greenness, offering a time-saving and efficient approach. Additionally, some of the genotypes were identified that exhibited high canopy area, NDVI, and nitrogen use efficiency in both 2021 and 2022, providing potential for enhancing crop productivity. This study reveals the potential to use canopy area, NDVI for biomass yield and nitrogen use efficiency screening in camelina.