How to optimize the seed and seed-oil production in the cash crop halophyte Cakile maritima?

Seeds of the medicinal plant Cakile maritima contain significant quantities of oil rich in erucic acid. Irrigation with up to 500 mM NaCl had no adverse impact on the plant growth and reproduction of this promising species for domestication. Yet, almost half of the seed yield may be lost at the harvest due to the fall of the fragile ripened siliculas. This is a major practical hurdle that would jeopardize the plant yield in field conditions. Here, we assessed whether the yield and the seed-oil quality were affected by the fruit and seed maturity stage. Results showed that oil content and fatty acid composition did not significantly vary between the immature seeds, whole immature siliculas, and the fully mature ones, indicating that these traits were neither significantly influenced by the maturity stage nor by the simplification of extraction procedure. In the perspective of cultivating C. maritima, our results suggest to harvest siliculas ten to fifteen days before their full ripening, despite the lower contents in seed-oil and erucic acid. This should be largely overcome by the large gain in yield traits since siliculas remain attached to the mother plant.