Wheat-Based Crop Rotations for Camelina Sativa Oilseed Bioenergy Feedstock Production in Central Montana.

Camelina sativa has been identified as an oilseed bioenergy feedstock, yet the production system has not been well-developed for sustainable production of this energy crop. The major concern for bioenergy feedstock production is the competition with food crops for land use. There is a potential using camelina as a rotation crop to replace traditional fallow period in wheat-based production systems without competing with food crops. This study investigated the impact of camelina on winter wheat yield and system profitability when using camelina as a rotation crop. The camelina-winter wheat rotation was compared with fallow-winter wheat, barley-winter wheat, and canola-winter wheat rotations. The study was a replicated rotation study conducted from 2008 to 2011 for 4 years using a randomized complete block design, and each phase of rotations appeared in each year. Averaged over four years, winter wheat yield was 2812, 2318, and 2723 kg/ha at the camelina-winter wheat, barley-winter wheat, and canola-winter wheat rotations, respectively. Compared with fallow-winter wheat rotation (3004 kg/ha), the winter wheat yield reduction was 6.4%, 22.8%, and 9.4% at the camelina-winter wheat, barley-winter wheat, and canola-winter wheat rotations, respectively.  Averaged over four years, the recropping systems produced 957 kg/ha camelina, 2087 kg/ha barley, and 725 canola to compensate the winter wheat yield reductions. Economic analyses were also performed to compare the input and net return of each crop rotation.