Accumulation Dynamics of Dry Matter, Oil and Major Fatty Acids in Sunflower Seeds in Relation to Genotype and Water Regime

BACKGROUND. Water availability is one of the agro-nomic factors that can influence the production and quality of sunflower oil. For this reason, a trial was done in southern Italy to study the effects of dif-ferent water regimes (0, 33, 67 and 100 % of ETm replacement) on dry matter and oil accumulation in the seed of a standard and an oleic sunflower hybrid. METHODS. The changes in dry matter, oil and major fatty acids in the seeds were defined by functional analysis and calculating their accumulation rates. RESULTS. Dry matter, oil and oleic acid contents were higher in the three irrigated treatments than the rain-fed one. The irrigated treatments differed only at th