The effect of year and variety on the nutritional value of Camelina sativa meal

Camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] is emerging as a promising crop due to its high oil content of seeds with a predominance of unsaturated fatty acids, and good protein content of defatted meal. This study investigated the nutritional composition of defatted camelina meal obtained from four varieties (three from Canada and one from Austria) grown in the Padana Plain (northern Italy) for four consecutive years (2016–2019). Statistical analyses were performed based on the collected data. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed distinct nutritional profiles among varieties and growing seasons. Calena, the Austrian variety, exhibited good nutritional quality and stability over the years. Pearl showed an intermediate year-to-year stability but promising values for trypsin inhibitors, condensed tannins and in vitro digestibility. The anomalous quantity of rainfall recorded during the early stage of seed development in 2019 allowed us to state that extreme climatic events can significantly affect the seed composition of the camelina varieties. This makes it clear that varietal and environmental factors need to be considered to produce a crop that can be fed to livestock.