Camelina Agronomy Research On the Northern Great Plains of Canada.

Camelina has not been widely grown on the Canadian Prairie.  To get a better understanding of this oil seed crop a number of agronomic studies were initiated including seeding rate, nitrogen fertilizer rate, fall and spring seeding dates and seeding depth.  The optimum plant population was between 125 to 200 plants m^-2 and to consistently achieve this plant density over a wide range of environments a seeding rate of 500 seeds m^-2 is recommended.  Camelina grain yield was very responsive to fertilizer nitrogen and there was a linear increase in yield as N rate increased to above 100 kg ha^-1. Seed yields reached a plateau at N rates of 110 to 120 kg ha^-1.   In the first year of a seeding date study, seed yields of fall seeding dates were significantly lower than spring seeding dates.  This difference was largely attributed to the fall seeding dates achieving a lower plant density, well below the recommended 125 to 200 plants m^-2.  Preliminary results on seeding depth indicate that camelina seed can emerge from depths of 2.5cm.  Overall results indicate that camelina can be successfully grown on the Canadian Prairies.