Abstract

To obtain high chia seed yields and seed qualities, a suitable crop management system needs to be developed for the given growing conditions in southwestern Germany. Field experiments were conducted at the experimental station Ihinger Hof in two consecutive years (2016, 2017). The study aimed to evaluate yield and quality traits of chia depending on different (i) row spacing (35, 50 and 75 cm), (ii) sowing densities (1, 1.5 and 2 kg ha−1) and, (iii) N-fertilization rates (0, 20 and 40 kg N ha−1). It consisted of three independent, completely randomized field experiments with three replications. Results showed that chia seed yields ranged from 618.39 to 1171.33 kg ha−1 and that a thousand seed mass of 1.14 to 1.24 g could be obtained. Crude protein-, crude oil- and mucilage contents varied from 18.11–23.91%, 32.16–33.78% and 10.00–13.74%, respectively. Results indicated that the year of cultivation and the accompanied environmental conditions, like precipitation or temperature, influenced the determined traits more than the applied agronomic practices. As average seed yields exceeded those obtained in the countries of origin (Mexico, Guatemala) while having comparable quality characteristics, chia holds great potential as an alternative crop for farmers in southwestern Germany.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-15-2019

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Agronomy, v. 9, issue 3, 136, p. 1-21.

© 2019 by the authors.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9030136

Funding Information

This research was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy within the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (16KN050524).

Related Content

The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/9/3/136/s1. Table S1. Standard error of the mean (SEM) and F-test results of the crude protein, mucilage and crude oil content of chia (Genotypes G8) cultivated at three different row spacing (35, 50, 75 cm), sowing densities (1, 1.5, 2 kg ha−1) and fertilizer rates (0,20 40 kg N ha−1) at Ihinger Hof in 2016 and 2017 (n = 3, α = 0.05)., Table S2. Mean estimates of fatty acid composition (% of total fatty acid) of chia (Genotypes G8) cultivated at three different levels of sowing density (1, 1.5, 2 kg ha−1) at Ihinger Hof in 2016 and 2017, along with standard error of the mean (SEM) and F-tests, Table S3. Mean estimates of fatty acid composition (% of total fatty acid) of chia (genotype G8) cultivated at three different fertilizer rates (0, 20, 40 kg N ha−1) at Ihinger Hof in 2016 and 2017, along with the standard error of the mean (SEM) and F-tests.

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