Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future

In an effort to provide profitable strategies for agricultural intensification in the Upper Midwest, winter annual field pennycress (Thlapsi arvense L.) has been domesticated for use as an oilseed crop. Pennycress oil can be used as jet fuel, bioproducts, and shows potential for use as food with further development. Crop modeling can be a valuable tool to predict effect of management strategy and climate variability on yield. Despite considerable research on field pennycress, no models are available in the literature. However, a model for brassica oilseed crop canola, embodied in the DSSAT software, can be adapted to model the growth and crop development of pennycress. Data from two years are available including pennycress yield, biomass, phenology, and growth; management inputs; climate; soil pH, texture, and fertility; and residue conditions. This will be a contribution to the development of viable winter annual crops for the Upper Midwest.