Abstract
Citrullus colocynthis has been garnering interest in recent times as a potential biodiesel feed stockcrop due to its high seed oil content and its natural adaptation to drought The variability seed oil content (OC), Oil yield (kg/ha) (OY) and fatty acid composition were investigated for 12 accessions collected in different localities in Morocco. Analysis of the data revealed high variability among the accessions, with seed oil content ranging between 17.1 and 24.3 % of seed weight and Oil yield from 35.3 to 172.7 kg/ha. The predominant fatty acid of the seed oil was linoleic acid, C18:2, ranging from 67.0 to 73.0 % of total fatty acids and the average values of unsaturated fatty acids vary between 75.25 and 81.94 %.The wide range of variations found in this study for the traits measured offers the possibility of genetic improvement to develop cultivars for biodiesel production compatible with sustainable and ecological agriculture.
Highlights
The increasing awareness of the depletion and shortage of fossil fuel and many global environmental considerations led to the demand of renewable and friendly energy
The main objective of this study is the assessment of the variability of 12 accessions of genetic material of Citrullus colocynthis (l) schrad for oil content, oil yield and fatty acid composition of seeds in the perspective that this plant has several arguments to be considered as a candidate potential for biodiesel production
For the linoleic fatty acid (C18.2), the mean values are separated into 4 groups with the lowest value observed in accession 1 (60.57) while the highest value is obtained for accession 11 (70.86). These results show that the average values of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) vary between 75.25% and 81.94
Summary
The increasing awareness of the depletion and shortage of fossil fuel and many global environmental considerations led to the demand of renewable and friendly energy. The development of new oil seed crops that can be used as alternatives to conventional plants has generated a lot of interest and C. colocynthis is one of the plants that is able to adapt to arid conditions. This plant has a natural adaptation to drought and several studies have reported that this plant has a great potential for adaptation to drought with a tolerance to water deficit [4, 5, 6]. The main objective of this study is the assessment of the variability of 12 accessions of genetic material of Citrullus colocynthis (l) schrad for oil content, oil yield and fatty acid composition of seeds in the perspective that this plant has several arguments to be considered as a candidate potential for biodiesel production
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