Influence of the genotype and weather conditions of the Northwestern region of the Russian Federation on the linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) oil fatty acid composition

Linseed is one of the main oil crops, the sawing area of which have expanded significantly in recent years and spread to the areas with a more severe climate. In order to achieve sustainable high yields of appropriate quality, it is necessary to analyze the impact of new climate conditions on the consumer properties of the products obtained. Current paper analyzes the influence of weather conditions of the Northwest of the Russian Federation on the oil fatty acid composition of different linseed cultivars. The content of 16 fatty acids was analyzed by gas chromatography in 20 cultivars and lines from the VIR collection grown in the Leningrad Region in 2016-2018 and characterized by different origins and different oil compositions. The content of 16 fatty acids was analyzed by gas chromatography. It was found that the genotype has practically no effect on the content of acids with short carbon chain (up to C14) and elaidic acid detected in mature seeds. At the same time, drought reduced their fraction in oil up to the point of complete absence. The amount of long-chain acids depended on both the genotype and the cultivation conditions. The fractions of linoleic and linolenic acids were almost totally determined by the genotype. At the same time, we have confirmed the data obtained by other authors reporting that a decrease in air temperature leads to a decrease of the amount of oleic acid and an increase in the fraction of linolenic acid. However, this is true only for the cultivars containing a large amount of linolenic acid, that is, for those bearing dominant alleles of the FAD3A and FAD3B genes that control the last stage of fatty acid desaturation in flax.