Fatty acid composition of camelina sativa as affected by combined nitrogen and sulphur fertilisation

Abstract

Camelina (false flax) oil is an important source of linolenic acid (C18:3). As agronomic treatments such as fertilization may affect seed quality parameters in oilseeds, fatty acid composition and oil content of Camelina sativa were investigated as affected by the combined application of nitrogen and sulphur in pot experiments. Nitrogen was applied as NH4NO3 at rates of 0.6 (N1), 0.9 (N2) or 1.2 (N3) g per pot. To increase the natural soil S-SO42- level of 25 mg/kg (S0) to 35 mg/kg (S1), 45 mg/kg (S2) and 55 mg/kg (S3) were supplied as (NH4)2SO4. Results of this study show that seed oil content ranged from 37.01 to 41.23% of seed dry matter, and oil content was significantly reduced by N fertilizer application. The contents of palmitic acid (range 6.9 to 11.0%), oleic acid (range 12.8 to 16.3%) as well as arachidic and 11, 13-icosadienoic acids were also affected by fertilisation, whereas variations in linolenic acid content were not significantly influenced by the fertilizer treatments applied. ©2011 Academic Journals.