Effect of Swathing and Desiccation Timing on B. Carinata Seed and Oil Yield.

B. carinata is a new dedicated biofuel winter cover crop grown in the southeast US for ‘drop in’ aviation fuels. Sequential flowering in B. carinata results in a mix of mature, partially mature, immature and unfilled pods that makes it difficult to determine the optimum harvest time. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of the timing of swathing or chemical desiccation on crop dry down, seed and oil yields and fatty acid composition. B. carinata var. A110 was evaluated in a two-year field study at NFREC, Quincy, Florida during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 growing seasons. Swathed or desiccated treatments were applied when >70% of the seeds were physiologically mature and at 7 days interval for 4 weeks during both years. Non-treated seed desiccation progresses rapidly, indicated by a drop in moisture content from 50% to 10 % in 4 weeks. In Year 1, yield from swathing or chemical desiccation did not differ across harvest dates except for the May 21 treatment where swathing increased yields by 14%.  Swathing or chemical desiccation one week in advance of natural desiccation produced yields similar to naturally desiccated carinata without having an effect on the protein and oil content. These results indicate the potential of chemical desiccants to accelerate seed dry-down and harvest thereby facilitating the timely planting of subsequent summer crops.