Influence of combined nitrogen and sulphur fertilization on false flax (Camelina sativa[L.] Crtz.) yield and quality

The influence of joint applications of N and S on false flax (Camelina sativa L.) growing was studied in a pot experiment. Nitrogen was applied as NH4NO3 at rates of 0.6 (N1)–0.9 (N2)–1.2 (N3) g per pot. Sulphur was applied as (NH4)2SO4 to achieve levels of 35 ppm (S1) and 55 ppm (S2) S-SO 42− . The number of branches per plant increased with the nitrogen doses (10.62–12.41–15.38). The N2 and N3 rates (4.91 g and 4.79 g, respectively) significantly increased the seed yields (g/plant) as compared to N1 (3.77 g). Straw yields (g/plant) and thousand-seed weight (g) increased significantly only with the highest level of nitrogen N3 (18.23 and 1.17, respectively) compared to N1 (16.52 and 1.06, respectively). Increasing levels of nitrogen (N1–N2–N3) reduced the oil content of seeds (40.79–38.40–37.66%), but increased the protein content (23.93–25.63–28.19%). The level of sulphur S2 significantly stimulated only the oil content to 39.36% compared to 38.54% with S1. At the same time a negative correlation was discovered between the oil and protein content in the seeds (r= −0.8164). The applied doses of nitrogen N2 and N3 significantly increased the total oil yields (1.88–1.80 g/plant) as well as the total protein yields (1.25–1.35 g/plant) compared to N1 (1.53 and 0.90 g/plant, respectively).