Agronomic performance of the Camelina sativa accession and its biogas production

Abstract

This research was set up in 2013 in agroecological conditions of continental Croatia (3 different locations). The extperiment was set as a split-plot design in four replicates, with three levels of the main treatments of soil tillage (CT - plowing; MD - reduced multiple disk harrowing; SD - reduced single disk harrowing) and levels of subtreatment fertilization (F0 - control; F1 - standard KAN fertilization; F2 - fertilization with 5% urea solution; F3 - Profert Mara; F4 - Profert NGT; F5 - Thiofer; F6 - EM Aktiv). The highest camelina grain and biomass yield was achieved in the subtreatment F6 when using microbiological fertilizer EM Aktiv, regardless of the applied agrotechnics. After the harvest experiment, anaerobic batch co-digestion of camelina and cow manure was conducted under thermophilic conditions to determine camelina's potential for biogas production. The biogas potential of camelina was expressed as biogas and methane yields which ranged from 382.00 and 246.04 cm3 g-1 VS, respectively. If compared to maize which is often used as a standard for comparison of methane yields, maize methane yields are higher by 21 to 40%.