Search

This work aims to evaluate the agronomic performance of crambe and juncea canola, sowed in the summer and winter season intervals with and without fungicide application. The cultivars used were FMS Brilhante and Terola 25A85 for crambe and juncea canola, respectively. The experimental design was randomized blocks in split plots, in which the plots were sowing dates 15th May (E1), 1st June (E2) and 15th June 2014 (E3), and the split plots with and without aboveground part with fungicide (trifloxystrobin 150 g L-1 + prothioconazole 175 g L-1). The evaluated variables were plant height, thousand seed weight, seed yield, oil content and oil yield. The sowing dates had had influence only on plant height for crambe, while juncea canola had a significant effect on plant height, seed yield and oil yield. The fungicide application gave higher seed yield for crambe and for juncea canola, higher thousand seed weight, seed yield and oil yield. With the production technologies adopted for the growth of these two brassicas, it is necessary to obtain higher yields of seeds and oil, to enable the commercial exploration in the interval between the summer and winter off-season in the Northern region of Paraná state, Brazil [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crambe ( Crambe abyssinica Hochst. Ex R. E. Fries) is an oilseed with the potential for cultivation in Brazil as a source of renewable energy in areas with tropical conditions. Crambe oil contains erucic acid, giving it economic importance for use in the electricity sector. Crambe oil can be used in insulating fluids and in the manufacture of chemical products and biodiesel without competing with human food production. As it is a new crop in Brazil, the scientific literature on crambe is still scarce. This review discusses general aspects of agricultural production and the potential applications of crambe associated mainly with the manufacture of biodiesel. The topics discussed in this review include: (i) genetic improvement of crambe; (ii) agronomic practices of production, pests, diseases, harvesting, storage, and economic viability; (iii) industrial use of crambe oil as an electrical insulator and in biodiesel; (iv) detoxification of the co-product generated during oil extraction for use in animal feed and use of the co-product in the natural bioremediation of contaminants; and (v) the challenges of increasing crambe production. Crambe has a remarkable future as a source of renewable energy in Brazil. Strategies to boost its cultivation, such as the identification of improved varieties and optimization of production system logistics, marketing, and resource allocation, should be adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to determine the sample size to estimate the average of the morphological and productive traits of crambe (Crambe abyssinica Hochst) and assess the relationships among these traits. An experiment was conducted in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil (latitude 29º42'S, longitude 53º49'W and 95m altitude) in the year 2008. At harvest, 75 plants were randomly selected and measured for morphological traits (plant height, number of racemes per plant and length average of racemes per plant) and productivity (number of fruits per plant, number of fruits per raceme and grain yield). It was calculated the sample size of each trait and studied the relationship among the traits by scatter plots, correlation, path analysis and regression. In the culture of crambe, the sample size (number of plants) of productive traits is greater than morphology to estimate average and it has the same precision. The number of fruits per plant has a positive linear relationship with grain yield and can be used for indirect selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search for vegetal species regarding effectiveness in the phytoremediation of soils is of great importance, mainly in function of the great environmental problems, such as soil contamination with heavy metals, the necessity of producing more food, among others that mankind face today. This work aimed (i) to evaluate phytoremediation capacity of Crambe abyssinica Hochst and its growth in soil artificially contaminated with Cd and Pb, and (ii) to evaluate the possible impacts of crambe cultivation in contaminated soil conditions, in order to evaluate, to test, and to question the Brazilian CONAMA 420, providing important information that can be useful for governmental and environmental purposes. Two simultaneous experiments were developed, one for each metal. The soils were contaminated with salts of CdCl 2 and PbCl 2 H 2 O in five doses based on the investigation values (IV) of CONAMA Resolution 420, resulting in 0; 1.5; 3; 9 and 30 mg kg -1 for Cd and 33; 90; 180; 540 and 1800 mg kg -1 for Pb. Gaseous exchange, development, nutritional composition and production of plant components, as well as phytoavailability of metals, were evaluated. The contamination with metals reduced photosynthesis, increased breathing as well as leading to a negative effect on the mineral nutrition and productivity in general; Plants cultivated in soil with Cd presented higher phytoavailability when compared to those cultivated in the Pb conditions, being found metals in all parts of the crambe plants from 1.5 mg kg - 1 of Cd in the soil; and Pb was retained only in roots, not being translocated in the plant. Cd showed higher phytoavailability, being found in all parts of the plant and Pb was retained only in the roots. Cd showed a higher phytoavailability when compared to Pb, also being found in all parts of crambe plants from dose 1.5 mg kg-1 of Cd in soil, which is an environmental problem, since in these concentrations the cultivation of crops is allowed by Brazilian legislation CONAMA 420., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interests The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)