Optimal and Suitable Conditions for Prospective Spring Camelina Cultivation in Slovakia – Screening by the System of Soil Climatic Units

Abstract

Abstract Camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz], a recently rediscovered oil crop is becoming of interest to both industry and farmers due to its relatively wide use. The amount of camelina seed production is / will be influenced both by the demand from the industry and by the suitable conditions that allow its profitable cultivation. A preliminary insight on optimal part of the used arable land in Slovakia suitable for growing this crop was based on available information on the environmental requirements of camelina and the system of land evaluation units of agricultural soils. These data have been acquired from database managed and continuously updated by National Agriculture and Food Centre – Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute Bratislava. From this database information concerning the climatic region, slope, soil texture, soil depth, and skeleton content were used. The obtained results show that approximately 27% of the acreage of utilised arable land has optimal quality for spring camelina cultivation in Slovakia. If camelina will be used for the production of various biobased materials, on a smaller scale (several thousand hectares) it is possible to grow this crop without a significant restriction of the cultivation of other crops, especially those intended for food and feed production. In case of camelina utilisation as a feedstock for conventional biofuels production, it is necessary to take into account its competitiveness compared to oilseed rape, which is currently the main raw material for FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) production, both in terms of profitability of cultivation and CO2 emissions per tonne of oilseed yield.