Water-deficit stress and genotype variation induced alteration in seed characteristics of Camelina sativa

Abstract

The present study is aimed to evaluate the effect of water deficiency on seed qualitative traits of C. sativa genotypes in terms of oil and protein fiber content, total soluble carbohydrate content, fatty acids composition, and some phytochemical constituents including total phenol, flavonoid, and glucosinolate content. The investigations were conducted in a factorial manner through a completely randomized design with two factors genotype (five camelina genotypes) and water supply (100, 75 and 50% field capacity) under greenhouse condition. The results showed that water-deficient- responsive approaches varied in camelina genotypes. Water deficiency decreased oil content and increased protein and total carbohydrate content and both studied antioxidant compounds, containing total phenolic and flavonoid content. The fiber content was also influenced by the genotype greater than water-deficient stress. Among the studied genotypes, only one genotype showed a reducing trend of total glucosinolate under water-deficient stress. Various fatty acids contents were observed within and between the genotypes under the different levels of irrigation. DH68 genotype with the greatest oil content, unsaturated fatty acids and standard glucosinolate content had the best performance under water-deficient stress and can be a favorite outcome for dry climates. Overall, findings indicated a strong effect of genetic backgrounds and water-deficient stress especially during the reproductive stage on seed compositions of camelina plant.