Effect of seed position on fatty acid content in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Abstract

Variation among F3 seeds from a single head for linoleic acid content was high (50.0-72.7%) and appeared unrelated to seed position. Fatty acid content of seeds within self-pollinated heads was not affected by unfilled, adjacent seeds. Thus single seed selections for linoleic acid content should not be biased. No general relationship between fatty acid level and seed position was evident from, analyses of bulk samples except that palmitic acid content of seeds from the upper half of heads (7.4%) was higher than from the lower half (6.5%). This may be related to the negative correlation (r = -0.45) between palmitic acid content and seed size. Fatty acid content and weight of seeds from the lower half of heads were less variable than from the upper half.