Characterization of Field Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) Germplasm.

Field Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) is a self-pollinating, winter annual oilseed crop that has potential to serve as a winter cover and biofuel feedstock in conventional agricultural systems. As an undomesticated species, pennycress has a variety of undesirable, weedy-like characteristics that limit its agronomic utility. As part of a multi-faceted breeding initiative, 49 diverse pennycress accessions were grown in five Minnesota environments in 2013 and 2014. Morphological and yield-component traits were measured as well seed characteristics including oil content and fatty acid. Seed yield ranged from 533 - 1,794 kg/ha^-1, height from 41 – 61 cm, and lodging from 0-100. Shattering, estimated as % seed loss prior to harvest, ranged from 30 to 50% or more. Oil percentage on a dry weight basis ranged from 24.8 – 33.9%. Erucic is the primary fatty acid in pennycress oil and ranged from 32.5 – 40.3%. The considerable variation observed in this germplasm will inform our breeding efforts which currently involve screening and selection in 60 biparental populations and new planned crosses.