VARIATION IN COMPOSITION OF SUNFLOWER OIL FROM COMPOSITE SAMPLES AND SINGLE SEEDS OF VARIETIES AND INBRED LINES

The seed oil of eight sunflower varieties grown at 10 locations in 1964 and 14 locations in 1964 showed highly significant differences between varieties and between stations in mean values for percentage of stearic, oleic and linoleic acids but no significant difference for palmitic acid. The same observations held for oleic and linoleic acids in three varieties common to eight stations in the two years. The only significant interaction appearing in these studies was between years and stations. Varieties requiring the same time to mature differed significantly. Oil from composite samples of inbred lines showed large differences in composition, e.g., the ranges in 56 lines grown in one season at one location were: palmitic 4.7-8.2%; stearic 1.7-9.1%; oleic 13.9-40.3%; and linoleic 47.9-76.4%. Single seeds within inbred lines also showed striking variation. The greatest variation occurred in lines inbred for one to three generations and the least in lines inbred for eight to nine generations. Pairs of lines with identical or similar flowering date differed significantly in mean values of all four acids. Variation between seeds within varieties were relatively narrow in Armavirec and Advent, but wide in Peredovik where the range was: palmitic 4.5-9.4%; stearic 2.5-12.4%; oleic 14.8-46.4%; and linoleic 34.3-75.5%. The results show that genetic control of oil quality, independent of flowering or maturity date, exists in sunflowers. The wide range in composition suggests that altering oil quality in the crop by breeding is a practical objective. © 1969 American Oil Chemists' Society.