The effects of growing conditions on oil content, fatty acid composition and tocopherol content of some sunflower varieties produced in Turkey.

The properties of some extensively cultivated sunflower seed varieties in Turkey and their oils were investigated. 1991-1992 crop year sunflower varieties harvested from Trakya University, Tekirdag Agricultural Faculty, Experiment field of Crop Science Department were used as research materials. The oil content, fatty acid composition and tocopherol content of sunflower seeds in 1991 and 1992 crop years were determined as 44.2-51.2% (on dry weight basis), 43.0-51.5% (on dry weight basis); oleic acid 14.8-18.5%, 32.9-40.1%; linoleic acid 69.5-74.5%, 49.7-55.7% and tocopherol content (as alpha-tocopherol) 648-860 mg/kg, 524-880 mg/kg, respectively. It was determined that the growing conditions significantly affected the fatty acid compositions of sunflower varieties studied. While the oleic acid content of the 1992 crop increased, the linoleic acid content of the same crop decreased compared to the 1991 crop.