Brassica Juncea, a Promising Biofuel Crop for the West Central Great Plains.

Stable seed production under variable conditions and compatibility with the dominant winter wheat cropping system are keys for successful biofuel production from Brassica oilseed crops in Colorado. Although commercial canola (B. napus) hybrids are currently available, their lack of heat and drought tolerance makes them poorly adapted to the west central Great Plains, especially under rainfed conditions. We have found Indian brown mustard (B. juncea) to be a promising alternative because of its vigorous early growth, heat and drought tolerance, early maturity, and high levels of heterosis for seed yield in F₂ populations. High-parent yield heterosis averaged 20.5% in crosses of 38 accessions with the ‘double low’ inbred line CBJ and 17.4% in crosses of 60 accessions with the ‘double low’ line DZJ. For B. juncea to become a successful crop in Colorado, research is required to develop control strategies for flea beetle, further reduce glucosinolate and erucic acid concentrations, optimize a hybrid production system to exploit heterosis, and improve agronomic management practices.