Download Brassica-napus

Brassica napus L.
Origin and diffusion
Origin: it is thought to have originated in either the
Source:
gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.
edu/
Mediterranean area or Northern Europe, from a cross
between two diploid species, B. oleracea and B. rapa.
Distribution: naturalized in temperate regions
throughout the world
Invasive potential: low
Photo: P.Hillman
Photo: nordgen.org
Source:
knowyourvegetables.co.uk
Introduction
Bright yellow flowering herb, widely grown for the production of animal feed, vegetable oil for human
consumption (it is the third largest source of vegetable oil in the world), and biodiesel; it is also
exploited for honey production. Its seed contains 35-45% of oil, 25-35% of protein, 5-7% fiber, 4-8%
of glucosinolates. Several varieties of B. napus have been selected and certified for better product
quality and improved processing techniques.
Common names: Rape, oilseed rape, rapeseeds, canola (English), Colza (Italian)
Description
Life-form and periodicity: annual or perennial herb
Height: 30 cm – 1 m
Roots habit: the tap-root is large and thickened, the root system is deep in relation to the aerial parts
of the plant, mainly concentrated within the first 35-40 cm of soil.
Culm/Stem/Trunk: the stem is herbaceous, branching, erect, reddish-purple below, greenish-red
above, glabrous,
Crown: -
Fam. Brassicaceae
Description
Leaf: the leaves are simple, alternate, glaucous, divided transversely into lobes with an enlarged
terminal lobe and smaller lateral lobes. The middle and upper leaves are oblong-lanceolate, thicker
and sessile.
Rate of transpiration: 4,9 – 7,8 mm/day
Reproductive structure: the flowers are united in terminal racemes. They have 4 sepals and 4
yellow petals.
Propagative structure: the fruit is 2-celled, elongated capsule called a silique, containing 20-30
seeds. The seeds are curved, red-brown to black colour.
Development
Sexual propagation: flowers are capable of self-pollination or outcrossing; pollen grains have the
ability to cross-pollinate through physical contact between neighbouring plants and/or be pollinated by
insects; pollen can also become airborne and potentially travel at least several kilometres downwind.
Moderate seed spread rate; the greatest potential for the movement of canola seeds is from postharvest spillage by agricultural machinery or during transportation away from the production areas.
Asexual propagation: there are no reports of vegetative reproduction under field conditions
Growth rate: rapid
Habitat characteristics
Light and water requirement: it needs full sun and moist soil for maximum performance
Soil requirements: it is adapted to medium and fine textured soils. It has a higher requirement for
nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur than cereals and other crops and will not produce high yields
unless all three elements are adequately supplied. It prefers moist and deep soils, with a good water
retention and pH 6,5.
Tolerance/sensitivity: low drought tolerance and intolerance to shade. Some varieties can be
reasonably frost tolerant.
Phytotechnologies applications
Brassica spp. is well known as hyperaccumulator of heavy metals; due to its fast growth it can be
exploited for phytoextraction (Bañuelos et al, 2005; Turan & Esringü, 2007) . It has been also used
to enhance the biodegradation of organic contaminants in soil as chlorophenols, hydrocarbons
and polychlorinated biphenyls (Adam & Duncan, 1999; Agostini et al., 2003; Reed & Glick, 2005;
Javorská et al., 2009).
Experimental studies
-Experiment 1Reference
Contaminants of concern
Mechanism involved in
phytoremediation:
Phytostabilisation/rhizodegradation/phyt
oaccumulation/phytodegradation/phytov
olatilization/ hydraulic control/ tolerant
Types of microorganisms
associated with the plant
Requirements for
phytoremediation
G. Adam and H.J. Duncan, 1999. Effect of diesel
fuel on growth of selected plant species. Env.
Geochemistry and Health 21: 353–357
Diesel oil, a complex mixture of hydrocarbons
Rhizodegradation
Not reported in the publication
Not reported in the publication
(specific nutrients, addition of oxygen)
Substrate characteristics
Laboratory/field experiment
Age of plant at 1st exposure
(seed, post-germination, mature)
Length of experiment
Initial contaminant concentration
of the substrate
Post-experiment contaminant
concentration of the substrate
Not reported in the publication
Laboratory experiment
Seed
14 days
Plant were exposed to different concentrations of diesel
oil: 0 g/Kg, 25 g/Kg, 50 g/Kg
Not reported in the publication
Phytotechnologies applications
Post-experiment plant condition
Contaminant storage sites in the
plant and contaminant
concentrations in tissues
Germination rates of plants exposed to 0, 25 and 50
g/kg of diesel oil were 100%, 100%, 95% respectively
The oil seed rape cultivar Martina germinated well in
the presence of diesel but the production of top growth
was noticeably reduced to 17.8% and 16.6% of the
control top growth in 25 g diesel/kg soil and 50 g
diesel/kg soil treatments, respectively. The same
pattern was observed for root biomass with reductions
falling to 21% and 20% of the control biomass for the
two treatments
Plants grown in diesel oil contaminated soil exhibit
formation of adventitious roots (root structures which
arise in unusual positions)
Plant roots avoid diesel oil contaminated areas if they
have uncontaminated soil to grow into. If there is no
available uncontaminated soil, roots grow through
contaminated regions until they find an area of
uncontaminated soil.
No storage
(root, shoot, leaves, no storage)
Experiment 2Reference
Contaminants of concern
Turan, M., & Esringu, A. (2007). Phytoremediation
based on canola (Brassica napus L.) and Indian
mustard (Brassica juncea L.) planted on spiked soil
by aliquot amount of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn. Plant Soil
and Environment, 53(1), 7.
Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn
Mechanism involved in
phytoremediation:
Phytostabilisation/rhizodegradation/phyt Phytoaccumulation
oaccumulation/phytodegradation/phytov
olatilization/ hydraulic control/ tolerant
Types of microorganisms
associated with the plant
Not reported in the publication
Phytotechnologies application
Requirements for
phytoremediation
(specific nutrients, addition of oxygen)
Substrate characteristics
Laboratory/field experiment
Age of plant at 1st exposure
. Soil contaminated with heavy metals was treated with
EDTA at the rates of 0 (control), 3, 6 and 12 mmol/kg.
(EDTA was sprayed on the soils surface; concentrations
are based on the upper soil layer). After plant sowing,
each pot was fertilised with N, P and K using urea (120
mg N/kg), calcium phosphate (100 mg P/kg) and
potassium sulphate (50 mg K/kg) as a basal fertilising.
The soil was sampled in a depth of 0-15 cm from
agricultural fields in Turkey. Particle size distribution:
30.7% sand,35.9 silt, 33.4 clay;pH 7.31. The soil was
spiked with specific amounts of heavy metals.
Plants were grown in a growth chamber.
Seed
(seed, post-germination, mature)
Length of experiment
Initial contaminant concentration
of the substrate
Post-experiment contaminant
concentration of the substrate
Post-experiment plant condition
Contaminant storage sites in the
plant and contaminant
concentrations in tissues
(root, shoot, leaves, no storage)
96 days
50 mg/kg Cd (CdCl2), 50 mg/kg Cu (CuSO4), 50 mg/kg
Pb [Pb(NO3)2] and 50 mg/kg Zn (ZnSO4).
Not reported in the publication
Application of EDTA significantly decreased root and shoot
dry matter yields.
The total dry weight of biomass was also affected by the
contamination; on average, the metals caused a reduction
of about 75% in root and shoot dry matter.
Application of EDTA at the rates of 3, 6 and 12 mmol
per kg significantly increased Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn
concentration in shoots and roots. The increase rate
was often 10-fold or more. Application of EDTA at rates
over 6.0 mmol/kg decreased total heavy metal uptake
significantly due to decreasing total dry matter weight.
In all EDTA application rates, heavy metal
concentrations in roots were about 4–6 times higher
than in shoots.