Harvest Time Optimization of Pennycress for use Within the Corn-Soybean Rotation

Abstract

Opportunities exist in the Upper Midwest to establish crops in the fallow off-season of the corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) rotation. One option to fill this temporal space is pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.), an emerging cash cover crop. Pennycress is an attractive option for growers because it is a short season, winter annual species that can function as an environmentally beneficial cover crop while providing economic benefit as an industrial feedstock. However, agronomic management practices have not yet been established for pennycress. The purpose of this thesis is to establish when pennycress physiological maturity occurs and determine appropriate harvest timing; measure the effect of desiccant use on pennycress silicle shatter; assess yield and oil trade-offs of double cropping pennycress with soybean; and quantify the economic viability of a pennycress-soybean double-cropped system.