EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION ON OIL CONTENT AND FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF CANOLA CULTIVARS

Abstract

Oil contents of canola are largely influenced by temperature fluctuations. Longer reproductive phase and cooler temperature at the time of seed development stage of crop is favorable for good quality oil. Three field experiments were conducted one each at the University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi (UAAR), Groundnut Research Station (GRS), Attock and Barani Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Chakwal, to ascertain the effects of environmental variation on oil content and fatty acid of Canola cultivars. Eight canola cultivars were sown in a randomized complete block design in a net plot size of 5 x 2.7 m. At maturity two central rows were harvested to obtain seeds for chemical analysis. Seeds were analyzed for oil contents (%), fatty acid profile and glucosinolate content (μg g-1) by NMR and colorimetric methods. Results revealed significant differences amongst cultivars, locations and their interaction for oil content and fatty acid profile. The seeds produced at Attock accumulated the maximum oil content (42.15%), oleic acid (59.76%) and least of erucic acid (32.65%). Among cultivars, Shiralee accumulated the maximum oil content (41.81%) and Zafar-2000 the minimum (38.86%), however, Zafar-2000 accumulated the highest percentage of Oleic acid (63.77) and the lowest of erucic acid (21.78).