Comparison of oil content and fatty acid composition of native olive genotypes in different region of Liam, Iran

ABSTRACT: The autarky coefficient of oily seeds has to increase by the end of the fourth Iranian development program (2009) with an emphasis on Olive oil. Increasing the under cultivation area of Olive is one of the most important programs of the autarky project of Iran. There are many natural stands of olive in Liam province West of Iran and there is no exact information on native genotypes for future programs like introduction of new cultivars and breeding programs. A research on 42 olive genotypes (Olea europaea L.) growing as wild trees in different regions of Liam was carried out to evaluate the amount of oil content and fatty acid composition present. The fruits were collected at the ripening stages for oil content and oil analysis. Olive oil qualities are influenced by environmental conditions such as temperature, rainfall and genotypes. Oil content and fatty acid composition was different based on region and genotypes. Results of the study showed that fatty acids such as palmitic, palmitolitic and linoleic were high in the first year but lower in the second year. The study also showed lower levels of estearic and oleic acid in the first year and an increase of the same in the second year. Fatty acids such as oleic and linoleic are very important in point of nutritional value, healthy and olive oil quality and they have an inverse relationships with each otherʹs. Oleic acid (C18:1) amount was different for studied genotypes in different regions and ranged from 52.55 to 56.09%. Linoleic acid (C18:2) was very high for genotypes in relation with oleic acid. Oil content was high for PG2, PG1, SBM1, SKE8 and SBM2 genotypes (18.39, 16.59, 16.63, 16.47 and 15.24%) respectively. Experiment results showed that mentioned genotypes have a good potential for cultivation in local area of Liam province.