Performance of Crambe abyssinica as new crop for non-food uses in North-East Italy

High erucic acid oils are a potential source of raw material for some oleochemical transformations as well as for direct use in the production of erucamide – a slip agent for plastic films (Walker, 2004). High erucic acid rapeseed (HEAR) is the common Wgreen” source of erucic acid and it is mainly cultivated in central Europe. Crambe abyssinica Hochst ex R.E. Fries is another interesting crop for such industrial uses, capable of yielding even higher amounts of erucic acid than HEAR (Bondioli et al., 1998; Temple-Heald, 2004). Crambe has been studied for many years (Meijer et al., 1999), but its spread is still limited in our environment, because of its poor adaptability to the European continental climate (Fontana et al., 1998). This crop, native to the Mediterranean regions of North Africa, has positive agronomic traits, such as tolerance to drought and good adaptability to poor sandy soil. Conversely, it does not tolerate cold or waterlogging, so that solely spring sowing must be adopted in central and northern Europe. Aiming at testing the possibility of introducing Crambe abyssinica in the typical crop rotations of North-East Italy and establishing its yield potential, a two-year field trial was set up at the experimental farm of the University of Padova.