CAMELINA: A NEW WINTER-HARDY COVER CROP

MARGARET SMITH, PHD, ALBERT LEA SEED AGRONOMIST

Camelina (Camelina sativa) is a winter-annual in the brassica family—closely related to canola—and is as winter hardy as cereal rye. In the field, it looks similar to field pennycress.

OILSEED VS. COVER CROPPING

Camelina has been grown in Europe for 3,000 years as an oilseed crop. Oil yields aren’t high, but the quality is. Camelina can’t compete with soybeans as a full-season oilseed crop, but the University of Minnesota has been researching its capabilities as a double crop, grown between corn and soybeans. At this time, the market for camelina oil is limited.

Cover cropping is a great use for camelina. An ideal planting window is following soybeans before a corn crop, but this isn't the only viable window.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR SEEDING CAMELINA

1. Camelina, once established, is as cold-hardy as rye, but it can’t be seeded in as wide a planting window. Seeding too late in the fall can result in minimal fall growth and winterkill. Seed by:

• October 10-15 in central Minnesota

• October 20-25 in southern Minnesota • November 10 in northern Iowa (later planting at this latitude—into the first week of December—did not survive the winter)

MIXING WITH OTHER COVER CROP SPECIES

2. Biomass production capability with an early

November planting date in Northern Iowa was 4,000 lbs/A (at May 12 flowering in 2021). Biomass accumulation will be less if terminated before flowering.

You can mix camelina with rye or other cover crop species, but we are not certain yet of the best ratios of species to include in mixes. Farmers are doing a lot of experimentation with this new cover.

CONVENTIONAL VS. ORGANIC

Camelina is equally suited for conventional and organic farms. The root structure is much smaller than that of rye, and it easily terminated with tillage, 2,4-D, or glyphosate. 3. Seed is small, so there’s good value for your dollar.

4. It can be drilled or aerially seeded with a spinner, highboy, or drone. Due to the small seed size, the seed pattern may be irregular if dropped from an airplane.

5. The recommended seeding rate is 6 lbs/A drilled or 9-10 lbs/A aerially applied.