**Adaptability and Sustainable Management of High-Erucic** *Brassicaceae*  **in Mediterranean Environment**

Federica Zanetti1, Giuliano Mosca1, Enrico Rampin1 and Teofilo Vamerali2 *1Department of Environmental Agronomy and Crop Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, 2Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Parma, Parma, Italy* 

#### **1. Introduction**

98 Oilseeds

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The use of high-erucic acid oils is currently receiving increasing attention, due to the great interest in chemical compounds derived from "green feedstock". At world level, the production of these raw materials is constantly growing, and a real niche market has progressively been created (Mosca & Boatto, 1994). This scenario will allow greater substitution of chemicals with "green" compounds, and the introduction of industrial oilcrops may lead to further expansion of the green market. Alternative uses of crops for nonfood purposes may be an interesting source of profit for farmers, as is happening for higherucic acid oils. The current demand for these oils is still limited: at world level, it is nearly 20,000 tonnes of erucic acid, corresponding to about 57,000 tonnes of oils, used for deriving erucamide and various others chemical compounds (Figure 1).

Erucic acid is an unsaturated fatty acid (C22:1) with a large number of applications in the chemical industry because it confers desirable technological characteristics, such as high lubricity, cold stability and fire resistance, on oils and derived compounds.

Erucic acid is mainly transformed into erucamide, a slip agent for plastic film production. There are also other important derived compounds, such as behenic, brassilic and pelargonic acids, obtained through chemical reactions (e.g., hydrogenation, ozonolysis), which have interesting and innovative uses in the manufacture of chemicals, lubricants and detergents (Cardone et al., 2003; Gunstone & Hamilton, 2001; Taylor et al., 2010).

The actual world need for seeds containing erucic acid is not very large, about 100,000- 120,000 tonnes, but the positive trend observed in the last few years should allow significant extension of these cultivations. This implies that studies on the adaptation of species containing erucic acid in various environments are really essential.

*Brassicaceae* are the most interesting botanical Family for producing erucic acid, due to the large number of suitable species and varieties, providing on their own the whole amount of erucic needed worldwide. The content of erucic acid ranges greatly, with high inter- and intra-specific variations (Table 1): within the same species, variations may be very large,

Adaptability and Sustainable Management

**1.1 Species of interest** 

cultivation basin of erucic acid.

management (Zanetti et al., 2006 b).

of High-Erucic *Brassicaceae* in Mediterranean Environment 101

In this review, four *Brassicaceae* species are considered as the most promising for producing erucic acid, i.e., *Brassica napus* var. *oleifera*, *Crambe abyssinica*, *Brassica juncea* and *B*. *carinata*. Although *B. napus* var. *oleifera* and *Crambe abyssinica* are the most frequently cultivated crops for producing erucic acid, because of their high and stable yields, the introduction of new species may be an opportunity to satisfy further future needs and perhaps to extend the

The genotypes of winter *Brassica napus* var. *oleifera* are commonly defined HEAR (High Erucic Acid Rapeseed). HEAR – among the sources of erucic acid – is the most widely cultivated at world level (~30,000 ha in the world, 20,000 of which only in the UK) (Meakin, 2007). HEAR is characterised by an elevated content of erucic acid in oil, commonly over 48% (Meakin, 2007). This species can constantly provide high seed yields (De Mastro & Bona, 1998) – about 3.5–4.5 t DM ha-1 with 35–45% of oil – although new recently released hybrids may even reach 50% of oil (Zanetti et al., 2009). The most valuable characteristic of winter HEAR is high tolerance to low temperatures, down to –13°C (Auld et al., 1984), thus allowing early autumn sowing, long crop cycle and potentially high seed yields, even in northern Italy. With respect to the other species considered in this review, HEAR has undergone massive breeding, and the market has now made available not only open pollinated varieties but also some new CHH (Composite Hybrid Hybrid) hybrids which may reach greater yields, especially under high input

*Crambe abyssinica* (crambe) is one of the species richest in erucic acid (~55% of oil), but its limited cold resistance only allows almost exclusively spring sowing in north Italy and higher latitudes, with lower yield potentials (Zanetti et al., 2008). This crop may be an interesting source of erucic acid only in those environments where autumn or early spring sowings are possible. In locations with mild winters, some drawbacks may also be encountered, a marked

Compared with the other considered species, crambe has some morpho-physiological peculiarities, such as seeds enclosed in hulls (Figure 2) – they normally remain on the seed

Compared with the above-cited high-erucic species, *Brassica juncea* (Indian mustard) owns peculiar morphological traits, such as taller plants, smaller seeds and elongated leaves (Figure 3). Its cultivation is widespread, especially in its native geographic area (India and Pakistan), due to some interesting agronomic characteristics (e.g., drought resistance) and the low incidence of pod shattering, which can significantly reduce yield losses. Unluckily, its resistance to cold, which is extremely differentiated among varieties, is generally quite low, although some genotypes tested can tolerate down to –5°C and provide interesting yield results. At this time in Europe there are no available commercial varieties of Indian mustard, since its cultivation is widespread only in native regions. Great interest in this species in last few decades has emerged in Canada, due to its better adaptability to spring sowing in dry environments with respect to conventional canola (Getinet et al., 1996).

Among new *Brassicaceae* suitable for cultivation in southern Europe, *Brassica carinata* (Ethiopian mustard) (Figure 4) may be considered the most promising, because it provides good seed yield (2.5–3.6 t ha-1) and has several favourable characteristics, such as low bird predation and good tolerance to pests, diseases (i.e., blackleg and *Alternaria* leaf spot)

reduction in yield being possible in cases of sudden cold spells late in the season.

after harvest - smaller plants, and lower oil content (~35%).

Fig. 1. World production of chemical compounds derived from erucic acid, expressed as percentages of total amount (Source: Gunstone & Hamilton, 2001).


Table 1. Variations in oil and erucic acid contents in various *Brassicaceae* species (Source: Mosca, 1998).

even higher than 30%, as for *Brassica juncea*. This probably indicates that efficiency in erucic acid accumulation may be greatly improved by adequate screening of genotypes, but also that important genetic resources may be used for breeding purposes. In this regard, an amount of 66% of erucic acid in oil must be considered, at least in rapeseed, as the current theoretical limit of accumulation (Renard et al., 1994).

For some of these species (e.g., *Brassica napus* var. *oleifera*, *Crambe abyssinica*) yield potential and environmental adaptation have been sufficiently studied in southern Europe (Lazzeri et al., 2009; Zanetti et al., 2006 a), although there is lack of information on some others, such as *Brassica juncea* and *B*. *carinata.* 
