Rutabaga may become a cost-effective biofuel source

Michigan State University scientists are working on the project of transforming rutabaga into a biofuel source. The idea of this project is based on the fact that rutabaga together with its oily seed can be genetically modified to produce more oil. In the course of experiments its leaves, shafts and roots will be capable to produce oil instead of starch. Rutabaga is not very popular food product and this is actually one of the plant’s advantages. Using corn, soybeans and other food plants in producing biofuel made experts predict deficit of these products in the near future. There’s a suggestion that biofuel boom is able to cause provisions prices to soar. Another reason why Christoph Benning and his colleagues look at rutabaga is because this plant does not require any special conditions and is resistant to cold temperatures being successfully cultivated in the north of the USA. In other words, this plant is capable to make the US independent from foreign biofuel importers. The main researchers’ aim is to modify the rutabaga so that it would produce several times more oil than canola or rapeseed, which currently is the major biofuel source in the world. Because of some peculiarities of rutabaga blooming, there is no danger of cross pollination of genetically modified and ordinary crops. To cultivate the first generation of genetically modified rutabaga in university greenhouses scientists needed approximately a year. Even if things go as planned it might take up to 15 years to make rutabaga biofuel viable.