Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T01:01:54.208Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Determinants of yield and quality in winter rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) under Mediterranean conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2017

J. T. TSIALTAS*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece
A. N. PAPANTONIOU
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece
D. BAXEVANOS
Affiliation:
ELGO-‘Demetra’, Fodder and Pasture Plants Institute, Larissa 413 35, Greece
I. I. PAPADOPOULOS
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Technology, Technological Education Institute of Western Macedonia, Florina 531 00, Greece
N. KARAIVAZOGLOU
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece
N. MASLARIS
Affiliation:
Hellenic Sugar Industry SA, Agronomic Research Service, Sindos 574 00, Greece
D. K. PAPAKOSTA
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 541 24, Greece
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: [email protected]

Summary

Winter rapeseed was introduced into Greece a decade ago to provide oil for biodiesel. To identify agronomic traits affecting yield and quality, three hybrids and an inbred line were tested over two seasons (2005–2006 and 2006–2007) and four locations, in central and northern Greece, varying in pedo-climatic conditions. The large variations in seed yield, quality and agronomic traits were largely ascribed to location; in contrast, cultivar accounted for ⩽0·010 of the variation for many traits. Below 40°N, rapeseed is a risky crop; short season, high temperatures and low rainfall during reproductive growth diminished seed yield and oil content, increased oleic and erucic acid and minimized linolenic acid. A hybrid, Exact, with tall stature and large seeds was adaptive to such conditions. The most productive location had dense stands with tall plants bearing numerous pods on the main raceme. At the site with the coldest winter, plant density (PD) was lowest (ca. 30 plants/m2) but rapeseed compensated by producing large seeds, with high oil content and harvest index (HI). A biplot revealed that the hybrid Excalibur, outperforming the other cultivars for oil content in six out of eight trials, produced the highest and most stable oil yield. Combined data showed that seed yield and oil yield were positively correlated with PD, seed size and HI and negatively to the number of pods on branches and per plant. Large seeds had high seed oil content. Oleic acid was negatively correlated to linolenic acid concentration. High temperatures and low rainfall favoured oleic acid, which was positively associated with seed number per pod.

Type
Crops and Soils Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Angadi, S. V., Cutforth, H. W., McConkey, B. G. & Gan, Y. (2003). Yield adjustment by canola grown at different plant populations under semiarid conditions. Crop Science 43, 13581366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Annicchiarico, P. (2002). Genotype × Environment Interactions: Challenges and Opportunities for Plant Breeding and Cultivar Recommendations. FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper 174. Rome, Italy: FAO.Google Scholar
Asare, E. & Scarisbrick, D. H. (1995). Rate of nitrogen and sulphur fertilizers on yield, yield components and seed quality of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). Field Crops Research 44, 4146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Auerswald, K., Wittmer, M. H. O. M., Zazzo, A., Schäufele, R. & Schnyder, H. (2010). Biases in the analysis of stable isotope discrimination in food webs. Journal of Applied Ecology 47, 936941.Google Scholar
Baux, A., Colbach, N., Allirand, J. M., Jullien, A., Ney, B. & Pellet, D. (2013). Insights into temperature effects on the fatty acid composition of oilseed rape varieties. European Journal of Agronomy 49, 1219.Google Scholar
Berry, P. M. & Spink, J. H. (2006). A physiological analysis of oilseed rape yields: past and future. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 144, 381392.Google Scholar
Bona, S., Mosca, G. & Vamerali, T. (1999). Oil crops for biodiesel production in Italy. Renewable Energy 16, 10531056.Google Scholar
Bouchereau, A., Clossais-Besnard, N., Bensaoud, A., Leport, L. & Renard, M. (1996). Water stress effects on rapeseed quality. European Journal of Agronomy 5, 1930.Google Scholar
Brandt, S. A., Malhi, S. S., Ulrich, D., Lafond, G. P., Kutcher, H. R. & Johnston, A. M. (2007). Seeding rate, fertilizer level and disease management effects on hybrid versus open pollinated canola (Brassica napus L.). Canadian Journal of Plant Science 87, 255266.Google Scholar
Brennan, R. F. & Bolland, M. D. A. (2006). Soil and tissue tests to predict the sulphur requirements of canola in south-western Australia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46, 10611068.Google Scholar
Champolivier, L. & Merrien, A. (1996). Effects of water stress applied at different growth stages to Brassica napus L. var. oleifera on yield, yield components and seed quality. European Journal of Agronomy 5, 153160.Google Scholar
Dehghani, H., Omidi, H. & Sabaghnia, N. (2008). Graphic analysis of trait relations of rapeseed using the biplot method. Agronomy Journal 100, 14431449.Google Scholar
Del Gatto, A., Melilli, M. G., Raccuia, S. A., Pieri, S., Mangoni, L., Pacifico, D., Signor, M., Duca, D., Pedretti, E. F. & Mengarelli, C. (2015). A comparative study of oilseed crops (Brassica napus L. subsp. oleifera and Brassica carinata A. Braun) in the biodiesel production chain and their adaptability to different Italian areas. Industrial Crops and Products Part A 75, 98108.Google Scholar
Diepenbrock, W. (2000). Yield analysis of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.): a review. Field Crops Research 67, 3549.Google Scholar
Elias, S. G. & Copeland, L. O. (2001). Physiological and harvest maturity of canola in relation to seed quality. Agronomy Journal 93, 10541058.Google Scholar
Escobar, M., Berti, M., Matus, I., Tapia, M. & Johnson, B. (2011). Genotype × environment interaction in canola (Brassica napus L.) seed yield in Chile. Chilean Journal of Agricultural Research 71, 175186.Google Scholar
Farré, I., Robertson, M. & Asseng, S. (2007). Reliability of canola production in different rainfall zones of Western Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 326334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fortescue, J. & Turner, D. W. (2007). Changes in seed size and oil accumulation in Brassica napus L. by manipulating the source-sink ratio and excluding light from the developing siliques. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 58, 413424.Google Scholar
Gaki, V., Tsialtas, J. T. & Papakosta, D. K. (2012). Yield potential and harvest yield of oilseed rape in Central Macedonia, Greece. In Proceedings of the 14th Congress of Hellenic Scientific Society for Genetics and Plant Breeding (Ed. Polidoros, A. N.), pp. 280286. Thessaloniki, Greece: Hellenic Scientific Society for Genetics and Plant Breeding (in Greek with English abstract).Google Scholar
Gehringer, A., Snowdon, A., Spiller, T., Basunanda, P. & Friedt, W. (2007). New oilseed rape (Brassica napus) hybrids with high levels of heterosis for seed yield under nutrient-poor conditions. Breeding Science 57, 315320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gomez, N. V. & Miralles, D. J. (2011). Factors that modify early and late reproductive phases in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.): its impact on seed yield and oil content. Industrial Crops and Products 34, 12771285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunasekera, C. P., Martin, L. D., Siddique, K. H. M. & Walton, G. H. (2006). Genotype by environment interactions of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) and canola (B. napus L.) in Mediterranean-type environments: 1. Crop growth and seed yield. European Journal of Agronomy 25, 112.Google Scholar
Kenney, B. C. (1982). Beware of spurious self-correlations! Water Resources Research 18, 10411048.Google Scholar
Labra, M. H., Struik, P. C., Evers, J. B. & Calderini, D. F. (2017). Plasticity of seed weight compensates reductions in seed number of oilseed rape in response to shading at flowering. European Journal of Agronomy 84, 113124.Google Scholar
Lamb, K. E. & Johnson, B. L. (2004). Seed size and seeding depth influence on canola emergence and performance in the Northern Great Plains. Agronomy Journal 96, 454461.Google Scholar
Lancashire, P. D., Bleiholder, H., Van Den Boom, T., Langeluddeke, P., Stauss, R., Weber, E. & Witzenberger, A. (1991). A uniform decimal code for growth stages of crops and weeds. Annals of Applied Biology 119, 561601.Google Scholar
Leach, J. E., Stevenson, H. J., Rainbow, A. J. & Mullen, L. A. (1999). Effects of high populations on the growth and yield of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus). Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 132, 173180.Google Scholar
Li, F., Chen, B., Xu, K., Gao, G., Yan, G., Qiao, J., Li, J., Li, H., Li, L., Xiao, X., Zhang, T., Nishio, T. & Wu, X. (2016). A genome-wide association study of plant height and primary branch number in rapeseed (Brassica napus). Plant Science 242, 169177.Google Scholar
Lisson, S. N., Kirkegaard, J. A., Robertson, M. J. & Zwart, A. (2007). What is limiting canola yield in southern New South Wales? A diagnosis of causal factors. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 47, 14351445.Google Scholar
Moghaddam, M. J. & Pourdad, S. S. (2011). Genotype × environment interactions and simultaneous selection for high oil yield and stability in rainfed warm areas rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) from Iran. Euphytica 180, 321325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Momoh, E. J. J. & Zhou, W. (2001). Growth and yield responses to plant density and stage of transplanting in winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 186, 253259.Google Scholar
Moore, M. K. & Guy, S. O. (1997). Agronomic response of winter rapeseed to rate and date of seeding. Agronomy Journal 89, 521526.Google Scholar
Morrison, M. J. & Stewart, D. W. (2002). Heat stress during flowering in summer Brassica . Crop Science 42, 797803.Google Scholar
Morrison, M. J., McVetty, P. B. E. & Scarth, R. (1990 a). Effect of row spacing and seeding rates on summer rape in Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 70, 127137.Google Scholar
Morrison, M. J., McVetty, P. B. E. & Scarth, R. (1990 b). Effect of altering plant density on growth characteristics of summer rape. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 70, 139149.Google Scholar
Niknam, S. R., Ma, Q. & Turner, D. W. (2003). Osmotic adjustment and seed yield of Brassica napus and B. juncea genotypes in a water-limited environment in south-western Australia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 43, 11271135.Google Scholar
Nowosad, K., Liersch, A., Popławska, W. & Bocianowski, J. (2016). Genotype by environment interaction for seed yield in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) using additive main effects and multiplicative interaction model. Euphytica 208, 187194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ozer, H. (2003). The effect of plant population densities on growth, yield and yield components of two spring rapeseed cultivars. Plant, Soil and Environment 49, 422426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Panoutsou, C., Namatov, I., Lychnaras, V. & Nikolaou, A. (2008). Biodiesel options in Greece. Biomass and Bioenergy 32, 473481.Google Scholar
Pritchard, F. M., Eagles, H. A., Norton, R. M., Salisbury, P. A. & Nicolas, M. (2000). Environmental effects on seed composition of Victorian canola. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 40, 697–685.Google Scholar
Rathke, G.-W., Behrens, T. & Diepenbrock, W. (2006). Integrated nitrogen management strategies to improve seed yield, oil content and nitrogen efficiency of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.): a review. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 117, 80108.Google Scholar
Robertson, M. J. & Holland, J. F. (2004). Production risk of canola in the semi-arid subtropics of Australia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 55, 525538.Google Scholar
Rood, S. B., Major, D. J., Carefoot, J. M. & Bole, J. B. (1984). Seasonal distribution of nitrogen in oilseed rape. Field Crops Research 8, 333340.Google Scholar
Roques, S. E. & Berry, P. M. (2016). The yield response of oilseed rape to plant population density. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 154, 305320.Google Scholar
Seymour, M., Kirkegaard, J. A., Peoples, M. B., White, P. F. & French, R. J. (2012). Break-crop benefits to wheat in Western Australia – insights from over three decades of research. Crop and Pasture Science 63, 116.Google Scholar
Shafii, B., Mahler, K. A., Price, W. J. & Auld, D. L. (1992). Genotype × environment interaction effects on winter rapeseed yield and oil content. Crop Science 32, 922927.Google Scholar
Shirani Rad, A. H., Shashavari, N. & Jais, H. M. (2012). Effects of water shortage in late season agronomic traits of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). African Journal of Agricultural Research 7, 36773684.Google Scholar
Sidlauskas, G. & Bernotas, S. (2003). Some factors affecting seed yield of spring oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). Agronomy Research 5, 227243.Google Scholar
Takashima, N. E., Rondanini, D. P., Puhl, L. E. & Miralles, D. L. (2013). Environmental factors affecting yield variability in spring and winter rapeseed genotypes cultivated in the southeastern Argentine Pampas. European Journal of Agronomy 48, 88100.Google Scholar
Tesfamariam, E. H., Annadale, J. G. & Steyn, J. M. (2010). Water stress effects on winter canola growth and yield. Agronomy Journal 102, 658666.Google Scholar
Tuck, G., Glendining, M. J., Smith, P., House, J. I. & Wattenbach, M. (2006). The potential distribution of bioenergy crops in Europe under present and future climate. Biomass and Bioenergy 30, 183197.Google Scholar
Turner, N. C. (2004). Agronomic options for improving rainfall-use efficiency of crops in dryland farming systems. Journal of Experimental Botany 55, 24132425.Google Scholar
Unger, P. W. (2001). Alternative and opportunity dryland crops and related soil conditions in the Southern Great Plains. Agronomy Journal 93, 216226.Google Scholar
Van Deynze, A. E., McVetty, P. B. E., Scarth, R. & Rimmer, R. S. (1992). Effect of varying seeding rates on hybrid and conventional summer rape performance in Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 72, 635641.Google Scholar
Walker, K. C. & Booth, E. J. (2001). Agricultural aspects of rape and other Brassica products. European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology 103, 441446.3.0.CO;2-D>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, X., Mathieu, A., Cournède, P.-H., Allirand, J.-M., Jullien, A., De Reffye, P. & Zhang, B. G. (2011). Variability and regulation of the number of ovules, seeds and pods according to assimilate variability in winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). Field Crops Research 122, 6069.Google Scholar
Werteker, M., Lorenz, A., Johannes, H., Berghofer, E. & Findlay, C. S. (2010). Environmental and varietal influences on the fatty acid composition of rapeseed, soybeans and sunflowers. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 196, 2027.Google Scholar
Yan, W. (2001). GGEbiplot – a Windows application for graphical analysis of multienvironment trial data and other types of two-way data. Agronomy Journal 93, 11111118.Google Scholar
Yan, W. & Tinker, N. A. (2006). Biplot analysis of multi-environment trial data: principles and applications. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 86, 623645.Google Scholar
Yaniv, Z., Schafferman, D. & Zur, M. (1995). The effect of temperature on oil quality and yield parameters of high- and low-erucic acid Cruciferae seeds (rape and mustard). Industrial Crops and Products 3, 247251.Google Scholar
Zhao, J., Becker, H. C., Zhang, D., Zhang, Y. & Ecke, W. (2006). Conditional QTL mapping of oil content in rapeseed with respect to protein content and traits related to plant development and grain yield. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 113, 3338.Google Scholar