Breeding Better Flax (Linum Usitatissimum L.) for Agronomic and Consumption Values Under Different Field Treatments

We studies some best levels of N fertilizer (0 to 150 kgha-1) and cultivation dates on grain yield its related characters and 5 food consumption compositions on 8 Linseed varieties at Yasooj Azad University, Iran, during 2009 and 2010 in field experiments as RBD split-plot designs. As a result, early sowings (14th March) along with moderate-to-high N fertilizer (100-150 kgha-1) led to highest yields. Significant positive associations found between agronomic and biochemical; oil percentage and Linoleic fatty acids. Path coefficients analysis revealed interestingly that Capsule number and primary branch per plant, plant height and 1000-seed weight had the most positive direct effects on seed yield. According to PCA, first two traits, along with height and 1000-seed weight, oleic and Linoleic acids and dry weight had the most contributions, interpreting almost all the variation. Thus, to simultaneous breeding of high oil and yielding flax varieties, capsule number per plant, primary branch per plant, plant height and 1000-seed weight should firstly be considered followed by oleic and Linoleic fatty acid