OIL CONTENT OF SEEDS AS AFFECTED BY THE 

 NUTRITION OF THE PLANT 



By W. W. Garner, Physiologist in Charge, H. A. Allard, Assistant Physiologist, 

 and C. L. FoubERT, Scientific Assistant, Tobacco and Plant-Nutrition Investiga- 

 tions, Bureau of Plant Industry 



INTRODUCTION 



Although oils and fats are very widely distributed in the plant world, 

 the commercial supply of these products is derived chiefly from a com- 

 paratively small number of species, and in most cases the seeds of these 

 plants furnish the raw material. In general, the oil produced by the 

 plant is usually stored in the seed or- other reproductive parts, and for 

 this and other reasons the seed constitutes the most favorable material 

 for a study of the quantitative production of oil in plants. 



The seed as a rule varies less in composition than other plant parts, 

 as would be inferred when we consider its relatively small size along 

 with the fact that it normally possesses the ability to reproduce in 

 detail the distinctive characters of the parental type. Nevertheless, 

 when grown under widely different conditions, seeds frequently show 

 such marked changes in composition that their agricultural or com- 

 mercial value is materially affected. The composition of certain seeds, 

 more particularly wheat and other grains, as influenced by environ- 

 ment, has been extensively investigated in so far as relates to their 

 content of protein, carbohydrate, and ash; but no extensive investiga- 

 tion of the oil content of seeds as affected by the various factors of 

 nutrition has thus far been reported. There are on record, however, 

 numerous analyses of oleaginous seeds grown in different regions, which 

 indicate marked differences in oil content, presumably due, at least in 

 part, to the varying conditions under which the seeds were produced. 

 Some of our important crop plants are of value, primarily, for the oil 

 contained in the seed; and it is a matter of practical importance to 

 ascertain, so far as possible, the most favorable conditions for obtain- 

 ing maximum yields of oil. It was with this object in view that an 

 investigation was undertaken, some of the results of which are presented 

 in the present paper. 



The true fatty oils, composed of glycerin esters of the fatty acids, 

 are quite different chemically from the carbohydrates; and, in fact, the 

 two groups of compounds have little in common, except that both con- 

 tain only the three elements — carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. On the 

 other hand, there is a very intimate and significant physiological rela- 



Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. Ill, No. 3 



Dept. of Agriculture. Washington. D. C. Dec. 15, 1914 



G-J7 

 (2»7) 



