Tree-to-tree variation in stearic and oleic acid content in seed fat from Allanblackia floribunda from wild stands: Potential for tree breeding.

We determined whether Allanblackia floribunda, a forest tree species that is valued for the fat extracted from its seeds, could be genetically improved for fruit/seed production by sampling 17-40 fruits from each of 70 trees that were distributed among four sites in wild stands. Fat was extracted from the seeds, and stearic and oleic acid content of the fat was estimated. Highly significant (P<0.0001) between- and within-tree variation characterised fruits and seed characters. Between-site phenotypic variation was not significant. Stearic and oleic acid percentages in seed fat ranged from 44.16% to 66.12%, and from 24.95% to 48.42% per tree sample, respectively. Moderate repeatabilities were identified in fruit characters and mean seed mass. Moderate positive relationships were found between stearic and oleic acid percentages. Seed fat profiles were not found to vary with other fruit characters. Twenty "plus trees" were selected for breeding.