Grow Camelina As a Winter Crop In Tennessee.

Camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crtz., Brassicaceae], known as wild or false flax, has long been considered as a weed in the flax field. However, there are growing interests in using camelina as biodiesel feedstock due to its high oil content in seeds and low inputs in production. In the USA, camelina are mostly grown in the northern part as a summer crop. But, camelina is relatively cold tolerant, and it has short growing season and matures early. Therefore, it might be possible to grow camelina as a winter crop to fit it into the double cropping system in TN. However, little is known about its potential as a winter crop in TN. In this preliminary study, field experiments were conducted for eight cultivars and 42 germplasm lines. The objective of this study was to investigate their agronomic performance and explore their adaptability in TN.