When deciding what crops to grow during a season, growers look at several factors.
But, extension agronomist Stephen Kaffka, and his team at UC Davis, including project scientist Nic George, explored growing cool season crops in the same areas.
Kaffka’s team looked at growing canola and camelina.
There are many new varieties of canola and camelina.
Most camelina varieties are new to cultivation in the United States.
Why did Kaffka’s team decide to research oilseed crops?
"California’s climate is similar to southern Australia, where cool-season crops are grown primarily on natural rainfall in winter," say Kaffka and George.
Canola varieties developed for Australia have shorter growing season than most commercially available spring-type canola varieties grown in the rest of North America.
The researchers also carefully recorded variables about the fields and seasonal growing conditions, like the physical and chemical properties of the soil, the amount of rainfall that year, and how much irrigation was used.
Canola and Camelina as New Crop Options for Cool-Season Production in California.