Seed colour and linolenic acid effects on agronomic traits in flax

Abstract

Solin flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is an edible-oil crop that must have less than 5% linolenic acid in its seed oil and a yellow seed coat. Seed vigour of solin is often lower than that of brown-seeded linseed flax and this lower seed vigour has been associated with both seed colour and linolenic acid levels. To evaluate the agronomic affect of this relationship, paired near-iso-genic populations of flax differing in seed coat colour and linolenic acid concentration were selected from different crosses and sown in field trials at the Kernen Crop Research Farm, University of Saskatchewan in 1995 and 1996. Seed with brown seed coat colour had higher field emergence and seed yield than yellow-seeded types. However, emergence differences did not contribute to this seed yield variation. Maturity was not affected by seed colour but yellow seed had greater seed oil concentration and mechanical seed coat damage than brown seed. Low linolenic acid seed (2%), compared with high linolenic seed (50%), had lower field emergence in 1995, were later maturing and had higher seed yield. Linolenic acid concentration had no significant effect on oil concentration and seed damage from mechanical harvesting. Solin types had lower field emergence than industrial oil types. There was no difference for seed yield, oil concentration and seed weight between solin and industrial oil types. Solin seed was slightly later maturing and had greater seed coat damage than industrial seed in some genetic backgrounds. Key words: Seed colour, linolenic acid, emergence, seed damage, flax