WP1Task 1.1-1.3Task leaders: 1.1 (CRES),

1.2 (INF&MP), 1.3 (UNIBO).

Lisbon 3rd Workshop Meeting18-19 November 2010.

“Non-food Crops-to-Industry schemes in EU27”

Lorenzo Nissen and Andrea Monti UniBO

•Task 1.1 - Oil crops (CRES, ITERG, UNIBO)

“...UniBO will report on the oil crops for lubricants,

solvents and polymers”.

•Task 1.2 - Fibre crops(INF&MP, UNIBO, CRES)

“…UniBO will report on fruitand leaf fibers”

•Task 1.3 - Carbohydrate crops (UNIBO, CRES)

Topics covered

CAPER SPURGE Euphorbia lagascaeEuphorbia lathyris

Euphorbiaceae

rare casual biennial waste places and gardens

Domestic Wild

E. Lagascae distribution is limited compared to

E. lathyris (North to South USA and EU).

Task 1.1

[1] [2] [3]

[4]

A new oil crops within the Eu.The seeds contain nearly 50% oil,

of which 80-85% is oleic acid.

Nobel laureate Melvin Calvin suggested L. lathyris as an “oil plant"

up to 150 cm3-4 flower heads

3-4 seeds per head

CAPER SPURGE Euphorbia lagascae

Euphorbiaceae

Task 1.1

CONSTRAINTS•seed shedding

• foliage rich in vesicant latex

BREEDING•High vernolic line

YIELDS•seeds ~ 5 T/Ha

•oil 2,5 T/Ha

epoxy oil higher performance

lineseed oil, soybean oils

1.7% latex f.w. epoxy fa

antioxidantanti-histamine

anti-inflammatory(prostate cancer)

antioxidantfertility

UV skin protectionimmune modulator

Folk medicine since Euphorbos

low weight hydrocarbon

Polyciclic terpenoid etilene

xilenepropilenetoluene

SAFFLOWERCarthamus tinctorius

Asteraceae

One humanity’s oldest crops, butminor crop. Production 600000 T/y

Worldwide.India, US, Ethiopia,

China

Task 1.1

20°S

40°N

[2][1]

[4]

[3]

30 to 150 cm1-5 flower heads with 15-20 seeds per head

"high quality" edible oil linoleic and oleic oil varieties

dryland crop rotation(not before Sunflower)

BiofuelLow temp prop

SAFFLOWERCarthamus tinctorius

Asteraceae

Task 1.1

CONSTRAINTS•spineless cvs = little oil content

•frost sensitive

BREEDING•flower color

•degree of spininess• oil content•resistance

YIELDS•seeds up to 5 T/ha•oil up to 1,5 T/ha

cartaminsafflower yellow

Present interest centres on typeswith different fatty acid profiles

in the seed oil, which are suitable for lubricants, paints and varnishes.

Seeds = 32-40% oil

First cultivation in Egypt 4000 BC.Nowadays 60% in India.

Cultivation

India and China Brazil (“mamona oil” to

produce biodiesel).Eu: Sardinia and France.

Task 1.1CASTOR OIL

Ricinus communisEuphorbiaceae

Two major type-species: 1) high oleic acid content,

2) high linoleic acid content

CONSTRAINTS•frost sensitive

BREEDING•dwarf line

•free pollination

YIELDS•seeds 1-2 T/ha (dry)

•seeds up to 4 T/ha (wet)

[3][2][1]

[4]

1 to 10 m5-20 Racems

CASTORRicinus communis

Euphorbiaceae

Task 1.1

The Egyptians burned castor oil in their lamps more than 4,000 years ago

Food Dyes

Insulin

Wide range applications

in folk medicine•Inflammation

•epilepsy •dermatitis

•contraceptive

Oil ~ coconut and palm oils, rich in medium-chain triglycerids.

C. painteri >73% in caprylic acid

C. carthagenensis >80% in lauric acid

C. koehneana >95% in capric acid

the richest natural source in single fatty acid

260 species. Annual and perennial

flowering plants.

American originBest cropping results Mediterrean countries

Experimental in NL

CUPHEACuphea spp.Lythraceae

Task 1.1

CONSTRAINTS•seed shatter

•indeterminate flowering • overall stickiness

[1]

[3]

[2]

BREEDING•C. viscosissima x C. lanceolata

•High Capric Cuphea line •Partial Seed Retention line

(ARS USDA)

YIELDS•est. seed yield: 2500 Kg/ha

•est. oil yield: 625 Kg/ha

30 to 150 cm1-5 flower heads with 15-20 seeds per head

Task 1.1Task 1.1

US Market >500 M$ >100000 T/y to process

EU import coconut and palm kernel

food industrydairy industry

beverage industryhealth carefornituresgardening

monolaurincooling applications

decanoate estersnandrolonebromperidolpiperazine

caprylic acid

lauric acid

capric acid

octanoic

decanoic

dodecanoic

CUPHEACuphea spp.Lythraceae

[4]

MCT-oil market is expanding, MCT-oil now important as medical supplement (malabsorption). Production is still burdensome, synth MCT-oils from imported oil C8 and C10 fractions.

HONESTYLunaria biennisBrassicaceae

Domestic Wild

Annual/biennial ornamental plant. Southern Europe and Western Asia native

Commercial interest: seeds contain high proportion of

erucic and nervonic acids.

Worldwide, hornamental plant. Oil plant in

Germany, UK and NL.

Task 1.1

[1] [2] [3]

[4]

CONSTRAINTS•T° vernalisation req.

(10 weeks at 5 °C to flower)

BREEDING•FAE gene in B. carinata

•xxxx

YIELDS•seeds up to 2,5 T/ha

•xxxx Kg/ha

30 to 150 cm1-5 flower heads with 15-20 seeds per head

?

HONESTYLunaria biennisBrassicaceae

Task 1.1

erucic acid

nervonic acid

Brassica carinata FAE gene Lunaria annua

transformed plants nervonic acid = 40% total seed oil content

+

NRCC IPB experience

monounsaturated ω-9 fatty acid

myelin biosynthesis

nerve cells sphingolipids

high calorific value very low flash pointhigh cetane number

Phoenix theophrastiiArecaceaeArecales

[2][1]

[4]

Task 1.2

•Palmitic acid the mostabundant, 12.5%,

•β-sitosterol the most prevalent phytosterol 29.46% oftotal unsaponifiable lipid fraction

Polyphenols with Strong antioxidant activity

main fatty acids:•myristic (3–14%), •palmitic (8–15%)

• stearic (1.5–5.5%)

[3]

[4]

Up to 10 m

Arab origin, Crete Island 300 bc.

BANANAMusa spp.

CucurbitaceaeTask 1.2

Canariaswasted banana 20.000 ton/y

CanariasAndalucia

[3][2][1]

[4]

high-quality natural fibre

POLYMER processing:• injections moulding •rotational moulding

Badana 7EUFP (false stem or leaves)

•plastics•thermoplastics

•thermosetting plastics

from banana waste:•Bio-ethanol (CostaRica, Malaysia)

•Methane (Australia)

Yields up to 50 T/ha, plantains up to 40 T/ha.

Starch rich plantain

sugar rich banana

YUCCAYucca spp.Agavaceae

LilialesTask 1.2> 49 spp of bushes

and threes. Native of Central and South

America.

The San Rossore Park experience (Prj. LIFE 2007-2009)with invasive Y. gloriosa

AlbertaCanada

Baja CaliforniaMexico

Firstly imported in UK in 1550

Then spread through the Mediterrean countries

juice obtained from the stems

food canning

Yucca products must not be confused with cassava tubers.

foaming agent

soft drinkssteroids

7700 T/y of juice(½ internal demand),

200000 ha → 15000 T/y juice

Baja California experience (Y. schidigera):

edible petals flowertraditionally eaten in South America

•Phenolic derivatives with strong antioxidant activity

Source of:

•Steroidal Glycosidases:steroidal saponins,

steroidal sapogenins.

cosmetics

pharmaceuticals

resveratrol, yuccaols, yuccaone

Bagasse is a cattle fodder.

Extract in animal nutrition to reduce faecal ammonia.

YUCCAYucca spp.Agavaceae

Task 1.2

MAIZEZea maysPoaceaeTask 1.3

58°N

40°S

4000 m

Sea level

No grain

Sweet corn

food

fodder

Maize grain-ethanol biorefinery in the USA, which uses about 0.6 MT/y of grain to produce 250 ML ethanol (Cassman and Liska, 2007)

CASSAVAManihot esculenta

EuphorbiaceaeTask 1.3

>160 varieties

bitter sweet

•prussic acid up to 0.02%

•HCN in the pulp

•prussic acid up to 0.007%

•HCN in the skin

industrial starch

food orfodder

•laundry•paper

•textile sizing •glue•fuel

•tapioca•whole flour

•baked goods•alcoholic bev’s

•hog food

CO2 fixsucrose

synth

One of the highest rates, for any C3 plant

Solanum spp.SolanaceaeSolonales

Task 1.3Ipomoea batatasConvolvolaceae

Solonales

POTATOES

Wide waste potatoes (peels), ethanol production.

Dioscorea spp.Dioscoreaceae

Liliales

Crisp bag production

Information collection from previous reviews

Information collection from very recent research papers

Selection of literature

Revision of literature and

Next Plans

Report submission