Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 1Department of Biology, College of Education – Shaqlawa, Salahaddin University – Erbil, Iraq
2 Department of Field crops and medical plants, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, Salahaddin University, Erbil, Iraq
3 Department of Biotechnology and Crop Science, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Abstract
Seed specimen was collected from field trial to the evaluation of three Niger cultivars based on their seed physical properties, oil chemical composition, and anatomical characteristics. The results showed that significant genotypic variability was observed across these varieties and their studied physical, chemical, and anatomical traits. The cultivars parameters referred that the mature seeds are usually composed of three cell layers (seed coat, seed embryo, and Endosperm). The results of lab analysis revealed substantial variability, with crude protein content ranging from (21.32 to 23.45) g/100 g-1, ash content from (3.03 to 4.45) g/100 g-1, while the highest value for fiber content was (21.40) g/100 g-1 that obtained in the Karal cultivar. Microscopic images indicated that seeds from the Animax cultivar had maximum values for three axial and area compared to the other cultivars. The geometric mean diameter and arithmetic diameter ranged from (0.70 to 1.76) and (0.23 to 0.59) mm respectively. Significant differences were detected in fatty acid profiles among the evaluated cultivars. 'Benglanuglue' cultivar exhibited the highest concentrations of oleic and linolenic acids of (8.12 and 18.43) %, while the 'Animax' cultivar demonstrated the highest levels of linoleic acid (24.16%. These findings suggest that both cultivars possess favorable fatty acid compositions for potential culinary applications. Among the evaluated cultivars, 'Karal' exhibited the most favorable profile for direct culinary applications, characterized by the lowest palmitic acid content. Furthermore, both 'Karal' and 'Animax' cultivars demonstrated reduced levels of palmitic and stearic acids. All evaluated cultivars exhibit potential for contributing on the enhancement of oil quality across the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Consequently, these cultivars are required to test over other sites belong to the given region.
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