[Investigations on the oil content and saturation value of the oil of flax mutants and their correlation with some other plant characters].
An analysis of the oil content and the refractive index (as a measure of the saturation value of the oil) was carried out during 1961-1964 in a collection of about 700 mutants, derived by X-irradiation from the two stocks no. 6 and no. 36.The average refractive index of the oil was highest under the cool and rainy conditions of 1961, lowest in the warm and dry year 1963. The maximum differences in the mean refractive index of the collections between 1961 and 1963 amount to an iodine number of 6 (mutants of stock no. 6) or 5 (mutants of stock no. 36) resp.The variability of both characters mentioned was significantly increased in the two mutant stocks. The average oil content showed, on the other hand, a decrease of about 1%. The degree of unsaturation of the oil is higher in the mutants derived from no. 6, and lower in the mutants derived from no. 36 when compared with the untreated material. In the present investigation no (no. 36) or negative correlation (no. 6) was found for the characters of oil content and refractive index.Subgrouping of such characters as plant height, seed coat color, flower color, etc. lead to more or less considerable differences in oil content and refractive index. It may be pointed out that mutants with yellow seed coat color are always characterized by a high oil content and a high refractive index.
Institut für Pflanzenzüchtung der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg in Hohenthurm bei Halle/Saale, Halle/Saale, Deutschland.
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