Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
100-400 ppm GA for 20 h helped seeds of
P. fendleri
and
P. gordonii
germinate at
low (5 and 10
C) and high (35
C) temperatures [
109
], and soaking the seeds for
4 h at 100 mg GA l
1
or GA with 2 g potassium nitrate (KNO
3
) solution is sufficient
to break seed dormancy [
110
]. Pre-sowing seed treatment in lesquerella will allow
better and uniform germination, but field testing remains to be conducted. The
current improved lesquerella germplasm does not have significant dormancy issues,
and adequate germination can be achieved from fresh seed.
Another significant research area in lesquerella is in identifying possible pro-
duction field sites for the new crop. Dierig et al. [
111
] have determined that
P. fendleri
grew well in areas with elevation below 700 m. The range of suitable
production areas might be expanded by introgressing genetic material from germ-
plasm of species with close affinity to
P. pallida,
since the latter have better plant
performance at higher elevations [
111
]. Possible production in Northern Mexico
has been studied with a mid-December sown crop found to outyield those planted in
October [
55
], while a late March seeding date was suggested when growing the
crop in Ontario, Canada [
58
]. However, exact recommendations for agronomic
management in Northern Mexico and Canada are yet to be determined.
Lesquerella plants are similar to short canola crop, but since it is being improved
from wild populations, pod shattering during harvest has been an issue during the
crop's early stages of development [
64
]. Terminating the crop by desiccation was
found suitable and machine harvesting lesquerella seeds result to low seed losses
(less than 5 %) [
112
]. The crop is harvested when the seeds turn brown and have
moisture content below 12 %. The plants can be combined directly or windrowed
prior to combining [
58
]. Harvested yields obtained from windrow combining were
less than when a direct combine method was used but not statistically significant
[
113
]. The harvested yield can be affected by the termination date of the plants and
a 2-week additional growth period was found to result to higher yields [
113
].
Market Challenges/Barriers to Commercialization/
Opportunities
The development and commercialization of new crops is a highly integrated
process starting from germplasm identification and improvement to getting the
necessary market and policy environment and involvement of industry partners
for commercialization [
69
,
114
]. The success to commercialize new crops and for
enabling farmer adoption entails knowledge and positive experience on them being
profitable. Widespread skepticism of alternative crops can result to limited public
support and may stunt the potential success of development and commercialization
efforts [
1
].
In the case of lesquerella, there is still limited testing of the crop in commercial
scale production and consumers are not fully aware of its potential. There are a few
remaining challenges for the crop to be commercialized [
7
]. Recommendations on
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