Seed morphology and oil composition of wild Helianthus annuus from Argentina

CANTAMUTTO, MIGUEL; ALVAREZ, DANIEL; PRESOTTO, ALEJANDRO; FERNANDEZ-MORONI, IVANA; SEILER, GERALD; POVERENE, MÓNICA

Córdoba, España

Conferencia; 17th international sunflower conference; 2008

International Sunflower Association

Wild Helianthus annuus naturalized in Argentina constitutes a potential genetic resource for use in sunflower crop breeding. Seed morphology and oil content of nine stable Argentine wild populations were characterized and compared to 17 wild accessions from the US. The achenes were harvested from an experimental field at Bahia Blanca (S 38º41’, W 62º14’) during February, in three successive summers. Seed dimensions of Argentine accessions were within the range of US accessions, but showed less variability. The lower mottling and higher frequency of stripes in Argentinean populations would be an indication of crop introgression. The oil content, fatty acid composition and iodine value did not differentiate the wild species origins. None of Argentine populations showed a fatty acid composition similar or better than the improved mutant lines reported by other authors. All measured seeds traits showed significant differences, pointing to the existence of high variability in this new wild germplasm from Argentina.