18.9 Future Challenges
The recent interest and research in camelina are impressive; however, further
research is needed in several areas. Some of the major challenges with world-wide
acceptability of camelina as food and biofuel feedstock are: poor yield, low price,
lack of awareness in farmers, and presence of antinutritional factors. Availability and
consistent supply of refined oil is a major hindrance for developing new products
including food products. The oil fraction of camelina has been well characterized
and its applications have been studied to a great extent. However, the potential of
camelina meal has not been studied well. The meal may have potential as livestock
feed, but more research is needed to determine optimum levels of inclusion. Since
camelina meal has a significant amount of protein, it might be worth characterizing
the protein and finding ways to include camelina meal in human food. Solutions for
logistics and storage of seeds and oil need to be devised. The specifications of the oil
for use in jet fuel and biodiesel, specific to the cracking process need to be
developed.
Utilization of modern biotechnology tools to identify genes associated with yield,
quality, and other agronomic traits may be considered. It will be beneficial to
understand the mechanism of drought and freeze resistance, and camelina’s ability
to resist abiotic stress. The knowledge may be applied to other important oilseed
crops. Additionally, it will be beneficial to study the impact of camelina on soil
quality. Competition by weed is a major challenge in camelina production. The
development of herbicides will be beneficial for the commercial production of
camelina.
18.10 Conclusions
Camelina is a highly adaptable crop with relatively low inputs and multiple benefits.
Camelina meal and oil have great potential to be used as feed and food. Camelina
meal has a high content of protein and fiber. Therefore, it has a huge potential to be
developed as a sustainable raw material for the production of biodegradable plastics,
sheets, films, and fibers. Currently, the major focus has been utilizing camelina oil
for biofuel. Camelina oil has potential in multiple health and food applications due to
the unique fatty acid profile and antioxidant potential. Improvement in plant breeding will play a major role in providing novel and sustainable sources of camelina and
open a new market for novel product development. Breeding programs to improve
grain yield and oil content will help Camelina sativa to become a more competitive
oilseed crop.
468
S. K. Singh et al.
The recent interest and research in camelina are impressive; however, further
research is needed in several areas. Some of the major challenges with world-wide
acceptability of camelina as food and biofuel feedstock are: poor yield, low price,
lack of awareness in farmers, and presence of antinutritional factors. Availability and
consistent supply of refined oil is a major hindrance for developing new products
including food products. The oil fraction of camelina has been well characterized
and its applications have been studied to a great extent. However, the potential of
camelina meal has not been studied well. The meal may have potential as livestock
feed, but more research is needed to determine optimum levels of inclusion. Since
camelina meal has a significant amount of protein, it might be worth characterizing
the protein and finding ways to include camelina meal in human food. Solutions for
logistics and storage of seeds and oil need to be devised. The specifications of the oil
for use in jet fuel and biodiesel, specific to the cracking process need to be
developed.
Utilization of modern biotechnology tools to identify genes associated with yield,
quality, and other agronomic traits may be considered. It will be beneficial to
understand the mechanism of drought and freeze resistance, and camelina’s ability
to resist abiotic stress. The knowledge may be applied to other important oilseed
crops. Additionally, it will be beneficial to study the impact of camelina on soil
quality. Competition by weed is a major challenge in camelina production. The
development of herbicides will be beneficial for the commercial production of
camelina.
18.10 Conclusions
Camelina is a highly adaptable crop with relatively low inputs and multiple benefits.
Camelina meal and oil have great potential to be used as feed and food. Camelina
meal has a high content of protein and fiber. Therefore, it has a huge potential to be
developed as a sustainable raw material for the production of biodegradable plastics,
sheets, films, and fibers. Currently, the major focus has been utilizing camelina oil
for biofuel. Camelina oil has potential in multiple health and food applications due to
the unique fatty acid profile and antioxidant potential. Improvement in plant breeding will play a major role in providing novel and sustainable sources of camelina and
open a new market for novel product development. Breeding programs to improve
grain yield and oil content will help Camelina sativa to become a more competitive
oilseed crop.
468
S. K. Singh et al.