Abstract

Nowadays, the society is seeking renewable energy sources that will replace in a sustainable way, fossil fuels. A source of energy that has stood out with great energetic potential showing itself to be promising in the world is biodiesel. Among several alternatives, the crop, Crambe (Crambe abyssinica Hochst) stands out as an oilseed species plant that belongs to the Brassicaceae family. This culture as a source of feedstock for biodiesel production was studied for its high yield of oil production, with about 38% of its grains. In order to get more information on the development of the crop in west of Paraná, it is necessary to develop studies on the response of this crop to fertilization. This study aimed to evaluate the crambe response to doses of potassium (K) grown in Oxisol in west of Paraná. The experimental design was of randomized blocks and the treatments consisted of doses of K (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg ha^-1 of K₂O), with four replicates. For the assessments, a week preceding the harvest, five plants were collected per plot to measure the morphological features and yield components: plant height, average number of racemes per plant, average length of racemes per plant, number of fruits per plant, and fruit number per raceme and productivity. The results indicate that the soil Oxisol of Toledo has good availability of K. Because of this, significant increments in K₂O doses on morphological characteristics and yield components have not been verified. The K₂O doses did not promote increments on crambe production components.

Key words: Biodiesel, development, Crambe abyssinica Hochst, feedstock.