Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement: Oilseed Crops, Volume 4 (Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement)

324 Pages·2016·6.71 MB·English

by  Ram J. Singh

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Volume 4
GENETIC RESOURCES,
CHROMOSOME
ENGINEERING, AND
CROP IMPROVEMENT
Oilseed Crops
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GENETIC RESOURCES, CHROMOSOME ENGINEERING,
AND CROP IMPROVEMENT SERIES
Series Editor, Ram J. Singh
Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement
Volume 1: Grain Legumes
edited by Ram J. Singh and Prem P. Jauhar
Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement
Volume 2: Cereals
edited by Ram J. Singh and Prem P. Jauhar
Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop Improvement
Volume 3: Vegetable Crops
edited by Ram J. Singh
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GENETIC RESOURCES, CHROMOSOME ENGINEERING,
AND CROP IMPROVEMENT SERIES
Series Editor, Ram J. Singh
Volume 4
GENETIC RESOURCES,
CHROMOSOME
ENGINEERING, AND
CROP IMPROVEMENT
Oilseed Crops
edited by
Ram J. Singh
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
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Dedication
Gerhard Röbbelen
This book is dedicated to Professor Gerhard Röbbelen, whose early and innovative
cytogenetic research contributions on Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. and Brassica
species are being verified by molecular methods. He laid the foundation of the first
international Arabidopsis core collection and newsletter. He pioneered in breeding of
high-yielding rapeseed cultivars with improved oil and meal quality and was awarded
honorary doctorates in agriculture (Dr. Agr. h.c.) from three highly prestigious European
universities. During his more than 30 years of professorship, many national and inter-
national pre- and postdoctoral fellows were beneficiaries of his expertise.
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Preface
What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
Exotic germplasm, often known as weeds, are wild relatives of crops. These wild relatives may
contain many undesirable qualities, but they may also harbor a few traits of economic importance
that can be transferred to cultigens by conventional chromosome engineering, as well as by
molecular methods. Major cereals, grain legumes, oilseeds, vegetables, and forage crops have been
an integral part of human civilization since time immemorial. They were selected and domesticated
from their wild progenitors. These crops are the primary food source for the world human and
animal populations.
The majority of the oilseed crops originated in the Old World. Groundnut and sunflower origi-
nated in the New World. Today, groundnut and sunflower are important oil crops and are produced
throughout the world. Vegetable oils are an excellent source of highly nutritional cooking oil for
humans, and oil cake and meal products provide protein-rich meal for animals. Pharmaceutical
industries use vegetable oils for producing cosmetics, medicines, and numerous oil-based products.
Oil processing industries refine heart healthy oil as well as by-products. Various methods of oil
extraction and purification and development of foods for human and animal use have been discovered,
invented, and improved upon since humans identified oilseed crops and learned their use. The
indigenous Indian method of oil extraction, known as ghani, is still practiced in the villages of India.
Modern oil processing industries have constructed refineries worldwide. Processing industries extract
oil from the meal and remove antinutritional elements during processing. Oilseed crops are one of
the wonders of nature because they are used for human food (salad oil, margarine, Vanaspati,
shortening, cooking, and bakery) and animal feed, as well as for other commercial applications
(pharmaceutical products, soap, paints and resins, coatings, linoleum, cosmetics, lubrication,
chemicals, plastic coatings, and ethanol). However, information on oil extraction, refinement, and
production of meals for human, animal, and technical use is beyond the scope of this book.
Because of their healthful fatty acid composition, vegetable oils provide us heart-healthy
polyunsaturated fatty acids that are free of hydrogenated trans fatty acids. However, vegetable oils
turn unhealthy when reheated at high temperatures, as they release a toxin called 4-hydroxy-trans-
2-nonenal (HNE). Numerous studies link HNE consumption to increased risks for cardiovascular
disease, stroke, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s diseases, liver ailments, and even cancer
(<http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=47063>).
Sunflower oil is not commonly used for industrial purposes because of its generally higher value,
compared to other oilseeds. However, it is used to some extent in some paints, varnishes, and plastics.
It imparts desirable semidrying properties, without the yellowing problems associated with oils high
in linolenic acid. Sunflower oil is also used in the manufacture of soaps and detergents. Vegetable
oils have potential value for the production of adhesives, agrichemicals, surfactants, plastics and
plastic additives, fabric softeners, synthetic lubricants, and coatings. Actual use depends, to a large
extent, on its price, relative to that of petroleum and petro-based chemicals. The prices of oilseeds
and their products depend on the supply of oilseeds, and the market is supply oriented.
Some oilseed crops (soybean, groundnut, sunflower, sesame) may be consumed raw or cooked
as food. Non-oilseed or confectionery sunflower seeds usually have very large, black with white-
striped achenes and are used as a confection or snack food, roasted and salted. Sunflower kernels
are also used in the baking industry, as a condiment for salads, and other foods. Non-dehulled or
partially dehulled sunflower meal can be substituted successfully for soybean meal of equal protein
percentage in feeding ruminant animals. Achenes are also used for feeding birds and in small animal
feed. Sesame has been primarily an oil crop, but the seeds are also used in baked goods, for
condiments, and in making sweets such as halva and candy bars, and in fast foods.
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Soybean accounts for 53% of all the oilseed crops (excluding perennial tree crops) production
listed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (<http://faostat.fao.org>). Thus, soybean
plays a dominant role in the international trade, foreign exchange earnings, and oil processing because
it is rich in protein (40%) and oil (20%). Rapeseed contains 36 to 50% oil (on a dry matter basis),
while the oil-free meal contains 33 to 48% protein. Soybean, although originating in China, is
produced mainly by the U.S., Brazil, and Argentina. Soybean is considered a miracle crop of the
Orient because in addition to oil and protein, the root nodules of soybean contain rhizobial bacteria,
which play a positive role in crop rotations with cereals and help replenish soil’s nitrogen supply.
It has been used for generations in India, especially in the hills, as both animal and human feed.
The intensive varietal improvement of oilseed crops for high yield and improved nutritional
quality (elimination of antinutritional quality) are the primary breeding objectives of various
national (public institutions and private industries) and international programs. The groundnut
varietal improvement program is among those mandated by the International Crops Research
Institute for the Semiarid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, India. The Asian Vegetable Research
and Development Center (AVRDC), Shanhua, Taiwan, breeds edible vegetable soybean known as
edamame. The International Soybean Program (INTSOY), established in 1973, at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, promotes soybean products worldwide and is an international
soybean resource. However, it does not have a soybean varietal improvement program.
Most genetic improvement of oilseed crops has been accomplished by conventional breeding
assisted by germplasm resources, cytogenetics, plant pathology, entomology, agronomy, cell and
tissue cultures, and molecular biology. A major technological breakthrough by genetic engineering
was the creation of Roundup Ready® soybean and rapeseed (widely known as canola). Roundup
Ready soybean is widely grown in the U.S. and rapeseed in Canada. Production of both crops is
expanding in other countries of the world.
Three books on oilseed crops are in print: Salunkhe and Desai (1986) published a book on
postharvest biotechnology of oilseeds (CRC Press); Röbbelen, Downey, and Ashri (1989) edited
Oil Crops of the World (McGraw-Hill); and Weiss (2000) revised (second edition) his book on oilseed
crops. With the exception of soybean and rapeseed, however, there are no consolidated accounts of
germplasm resources, cytogenetic manipulations, biotechnological approaches, and breeding of the
remaining oilseed crops. Volume 4 in the Genetic Resources, Chromosome Engineering, and Crop
Improvement series provides a comprehensive, consolidated resource for seven oilseed crops. World-
renowned scientists contributed chapters on the vegetable oilseed crops of their expertise.
Chapter 1 summarizes the landmark research done in the seven oilseed crops discussed in this
book. Each chapter provides a comprehensive account of the origin of the crop, its genetic resources
in various gene pools, basic and molecular cytogenetics, conventional breeding, and the modern
tools of molecular genetics and biotechnology. Appropriate germplasm collections can be an
excellent source for genetic enhancement of various traits in oilseed crops and for broadening their
genetic base. The genetic base of oilseed crops is extremely narrow. In view of this, three gene
pools have now been identified by scientists: primary (GP-1), secondary (GP-2), and tertiary (GP-3)
for each crop. The recommendation is to use GP-2 and GP-3 resources in producing widely adapted
varieties. Utilization of these resources in producing high-yielding cultivars, resistant to abiotic and
biotic stresses, and with improved nutritional qualities, is discussed in this book.
Seven major oilseed crops, such as soybean (Chapter 2), groundnut (Chapter 3), cottonseed
(Chapter 4), sunflower (Chapter 5), safflower (Chapter 6), Brassica oilseeds (Chapter 7), and sesame
(Chapter 8), are included in this book. Linseed has been excluded from this volume (per Allan
Green, personal communication). Perennial tree crops like coconut, babassu nut, oil palms, and
jojoba are also not included.
Each chapter has been written by one or more experts in the field. I am extremely grateful
to all the authors for their outstanding contributions, and to the reviewers of all the chapters.
I have been fortunate to know them both professionally and personally, and our communication
has been very cordial and friendly. I am particularly indebted to Thomas G. Isleib, Govindjee,
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and Joseph Nicholas for their comments and suggestions on some of the chapters. Finally, I thank
Steven G. Pueppke, former associate dean and research director at the University of Illinois,
Urbana, for his support and encouragement.
This book is intended for scientists, professionals, and graduate students whose interests center
upon genetic improvement of crops in general and major oilseed crops in particular. This book is
intended as a reference for plant breeders, taxonomists, cytogeneticists, germplasm explorers,
pathologists, entomologists, physiologists, agronomists, molecular biologists, food technologists,
and biotechnologists. Graduate students in these disciplines, with an adequate background in
genetics, as well as other researchers interested in biology and agriculture will also find this volume
a worthwhile source of reference. I sincerely hope that the information assembled will help in the
much needed genetic amelioration of oilseed crops to feed the ever-expanding global population.
I anticipate that this book will enhance awareness regarding nutritive values of oilseeds, preventing
malnutrition worldwide.
Ram J. Singh
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois
E-mail: [email protected]