Oil Content, Oil Yield and Fatty Acid Profile of Groundnut Germplasm in Mediterranean Climates

A high amount of good-quality vegetable oil in seeds has an overwhelming contribution to the groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivation throughout the world. In order to take into account great variation in oil characteristics in Arachis subspecies and botanical varieties, 256 groundnut genotypes including ICRISAT’s mini core collection were investigated. Significant variability in oil content (31.7–57.0%) was detected among groundnut genotypes. Oil yield varied from 9.5 to 179.3 kg da −1 with the average being 67.7 kg da −1 . Significant genotypic differences were also observed for all the fatty acids studied. Oleic and linoleic acids accounted for the major fraction with mean values of 45.3 and 32.1% in the ranges of 35.3–60.9% and 16.1–43.6%, respectively. Significant negative correlation was observed between oleic and linoleic acid. In the present investigation, desirable values were obtained for oil traits which would be useful to develop nutritional and health-beneficial cultivars.