ADAPTATION OF Camelina sativa (L.) CRANTZ IN DIFFERENT BIOGEOGRAPHIC REGIONS: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ASPECTS.

To study and characterize underutilized crops is an important strategy that might improve agricultural biodiversity and produce new products with a low environmental impact. One example is Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz (family Brassicaceae) or false flax, an ancient plant, that has been cultivated in temperate climate belt of Europe, as an annual summer or winter crop, for centuries. Camelina is gaining interest because of its low input requirements and, therefore, it might be used as a low greenhouse-gas-emission biofuel crop. In this last decade several agronomic trials have demonstrated that camelina has several unique agronomic features, including adaptability to marginal soils, short growth cycle and, if compared to rapeseed, a greater resistance to the dehiscence of the siliques. Several consecutive agronomic trials have been carried out in two north Italian localities and in north-east India (Assam and Manipur). The localities are characterized by a temperate and sub-tropical climate condition in Italy and India, respectively. Several camelina genotypes were used and three genotypes were compared between temperate and sub tropical area. Comparison at agronomical, physiological and biochemical levels have been carried out in both Italian and Indian regions. Our results have demonstrated that in these climatic areas camelina was able to grow and produce seeds in both countries, but in north-east India only during local winter season (from November to March) when the precipitation are absent, giving a dry condition season, and the temperature is comparable to that of spring-summer temperate European belt, which is the best season period for camelina growing in north Italy. At morphological level the most evident effect between the localities was on the plant height and number of branches of the camelina genotypes analyzed. Regarding the seed productivity in the two years of trials, the seed yield in India was lower (0.3 ton/ha max) in comparison to the potential yield obtained in Italy (1.0-2.5 ton /ha). Low yield was accompanied by small and light seeds, < 1.0 g/1000 seeds in Manipur, 1.2 g/1000 seeds in Assam in comparison to 1.5-1.8 g/1000 seeds in north Italy. Furthermore the seeds harvested in north-east India showed a lower oil content, about 25%, in comparison to the same genotypes, approximately 35% of oil, grown in Italy. The different percentage in oil, detected in the seeds grown in north-east India, was accompanied by minor differences in fatty acid compositions. The high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (linolenic and linoleic) characteristic of camelina oils, were always conserved, but oils from sub-tropical climate had higher level of saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic acids) in comparison to the seeds harvested in temperate climate. However, the Indian smaller seeds showed a higher content in tocopherols, which gives a greater oxidative stability and shelf life to the seeds. Furthermore, differences in total protein content were also observed. In conclusion, it is possible to infer that Camelina sativa has a high ability to adapt to different climate belts, outside of its original one. Camelina shows to have a high plasticity to climate changes with only minor morphology traits and biochemical characteristics seeds modification.