Aspects of product quality in

plant production

Part:

Quality of oil, protein and fibre crops J. Vollmann, November 2016

Oilseed crop species • oilseed rape (canola)

• sunflower

• oil pumpkin (squash)

• soybean

• olive

• poppy

• oilseed flax (linseed)

• safflower

• new crops (e.g. crambe, camelina, cuphea, lesquerella etc.)

• tropical / subtropical crops: sesame, cotton, peanut, coco nut, palm species ...

Oilseed quality - the example of olive

Olive (Olea europaea L.; Oleaceae) "extra-virgin olive oil": best quality, cold-pressed, first pressing only, no additives, less than 1g free fatty acids per 100 grams "virgin olive oil": less than 2 g free fatty acids ”ordinary virgin olive oil”: less than 3.3 g per 100 grams olive oil (without the term "vergin"): oil has been refined (inferior quality, which has been improved by refining) Protected designations: ”Extra-virgin olive oil” = "Natives Olivenöl extra"(D), "extra vergine" (I), "vierge extra" (F), "virgen extra" (Sp). (Obligatory trade specifications of the European Union since 1991, EU regulation No. 2568/91)

Austrian example - Rapso quality line

Quality of oilseed crops

• Oil quality: fatty acid composition,

largely determined genetically

• Oil content: crop specific trait,

influenced by agronomy and plant

breeding

Vegetable oil systematics

• fatty acid pattern ( iodine value of

vegetable oil sample ...)

• lipids: oils, waxes (long chain fatty acids

esterified to higher alcohols), lipoids

(phospholipids, glucolipids, sulpholipids,

proteolipids ...), emulgators (lecithin),

vitamins (tocopherol)

• essential fatty acids: linoleic, linolenic acid

Vegetable fatty acid properties

Vegetable oil biosynthesis

• fatty acid biosynthesis: FAS fatty acid

synthetase complex on chloroplasts

• fatty acid modifications: desaturation,

addition of functional groups such as

hydroxy or epoxy groups in

endoplasmatic reticulum (ER)

• fat (triglyceride) stored in oleosomes

(oil bodies) in cotyledons

Fatty acid

biosynthesis

(Harwood & Page,

1994)

chloroplast

Fig.: Model of oil body development in oilseeds (from: Wältermann and Steinbüchel 2005)

Relative fatty acid content of major

vegetable oils (standard composition)

Relative fatty acid content of special mutants

Oil characteristics of crop

species (summary)

• Brassicaceae: erucic acid (C22:1), eicosenic acid (C20:1)

• Asteraceae: linoleic acid (C18:2)

• Leguminosae: oleic acid (C18:1), linoleic acid (C18:2)

• linseed: linolenic acid (C18:3)

• Cuphea-species: medium chain fatty acids (C10:0 - C14:0)

Oil characteristics of crop species

• fatty acid patterns of crops

alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3)

Conflict over linolenic acid Linolenic acid (C18:3) is an essential fatty acid (omega-3 fatty acid). However, low-linolenic acid genotypes are promoted in soybean, rapeseed, linseed ... because of the trans-fatty acid issue.

Selection for high oil content: The famous

Illinois long term selection experiment in maize

Breeding for high oil content

• increased oil content of embryo (more

oleosomes or larger oleosomes in

cotyledon tissue)

• reduction of non-oil seed components

(achene, seed hull etc.)

2 ways to improve oil content:

Breeding for high

oil content:

Seed tissue

Trans-sections of

sunflower cotyledon cells

of a low oil (upper picture)

and a high oil (lower

picture) genotype.

o: oil body, p: protein body

Mantese et al. 2006

low oil

high oil

Breeding for high oil content

• sunflower, safflower: oil content increased from 25-35 % to 40-55 % through selection of genotypes with thinner achenes

• rapeseed: higher oil content in yellow-seeded genotypes (thinner hull)

• linseed: yellow seeded genotypes with reduced seed coat content contain 4-8 % more oil than genotypes with brown seed

• poppy: oil content increased by 3-5 % in genotypes with white seeds

• oil pumpkin: “Schalenloser Steirischer Ölkürbis” with increased oil content due to thin testa

examples

Low- and high-

oil types of

sunflower seed,

rapeseed,

linseed, poppy

and oil pumpkin.

High-oil

genotypes have

thin testa (seed

coat) or thinner

achene walls

(Vollmann & Rajcan 2009)

Linseed / oilseed flax

(Linum usitatissimum)

Yellow seed variety (right): larger seed weight, higher oil

content, less mucilage because of thinner seed coat than

brown seeded variety

Oil content - environmental influences

environment

GE 93 RE 93 GE 94 RE 94

oil

con

ten

t (

g k

g-1

)

375

400

425

450

475Camelina (Leindotter, false flax):

oil content of 10

genotypes considerably

affected by

environmental

conditions. Higher oil

content in environments

with lower temperature

and higher precipitation

during seed filling

period

seed yield ( kg ha-1

)

1600 2000 2400

oil

co

nte

nt (

g k

g-1

)

370

380

390

400

410

420

430

440

r = 0.57**

In most cases:

positive correlation

between oil content

and grain yield

example:

camelina 1993/1994,

r=0.57**

Oil content: correlation between oil content and grain yield

Oil content - correlation between oil and protein content

seed protein content (g/kg)

400 410 420 430 440 450

oil

conte

nt (g

/kg)

160

170

180

190

200In nearly all

species: highly

negative

correlation

between oil and

protein content

example: soybean

performance trial;

r = - 0.82

Problem:

Selection for oil

and protein

Oil content - influence of planting density

Response of sunflower to plant population(Robinson et al., 1980)

Plantsper ha

Achenesper head

1000-achene

weight (g)

Oil contentin %

Headdiameter

in cm

Plantheight in

cm17000 1223 106 37.5 28 15225000 1162 95 39.7 24 15737000 997 84 41.4 21 16549000 902 78 42.2 19 17062000 826 72 42.4 18 178

Oil content increased at higher planting density; single plants have larger

heads and a larger number of seeds per head at low density, but cannot fill

so many seeds with oil. Head moisture decreased from 68 to 50% at early

harvest and from 43 to 20% at later harvest, as plant density increased.

Oil content and quality

Oil content is highest at outer circles of a sunflower head due

to a longer seed filling period.

Influence of seed position on sunflowerquality (Diepenbrock, 1987)

Position onthe head

1000-acheneweight in g

Oil contentin %

Oleic acidin %

Linoleicacid in %

outer circle 45.1 47.2 19.0 69.3mid 41.6 45.2 17.3 71.0

inner circle 36.4 38.7 15.0 73.1

Oil content

• selection of a variety with high oil content

• optimized planting density (too low density reduces oil content)

• ensure sufficient water supply during seed filling period

• avoid excessive nitrogen fertilization, which boosts protein content, but reduces oil

• sulfur fertilization of rapeseed may increase oil content

• optimize harvesting date and technique

What can a farmer do ?

Oil quality

• genotypes with low (less than 1%) or high

(>50%) erucic acid (C22:1) content for

human consumption or technical uses,

respectively

• “conventional” genotypes, 0-genotypes (low

erucic), 00-genotypes (=canola quality: low

erucic + low content of glucosinolates)

• genetics: 2 major genes (allotetraploid!)

influencing erucic acid content

Rapeseed / Canola

Oil quality

• conventional genotypes with high linoleic

acid (50-70% C18:2) content

• “high-oleic”-sunflowers with oleic acid

(C18:1) of up to 90 % (technical

applications, high-temperature tolerant

frying oil etc.); one dominant gene for high

oleic acid content

Sunflower

Oil quality of safflower

Genotypes with different levels of stearic (C18:0), oleic

(C18:1) and linoleic (C18:2) acid content due to 3 gene loci

(Knowles, 1989)

Oil quality

Camelina

erucic acid content (%) of M2:3

-families

1 2 3 4 5

eru

cic

acid

co

nte

nt (%

) o

f in

div

idu

al M

3-lin

es

de

rive

d fro

m M

2:3

-fa

mili

es

1

2

3

4

5

6

r = 0.61 **n = 729

a

cb

variation in

erucic acid

content (C22:1)

from below 2 %

up to 6 % in

progeny from a

mutation

breeding

experiment

Oil quality

• green color of oil due to chlorophyll and

phaeophytine (chlorophyll-related

constituent)

• huge differences in vitamin E

(=tocopherols) content between pumpkin

breeding lines from Styria (Murkovic et

al., 1996)

• differences in linoleic acid content due to

location (Schuster et al., 1983)

Oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.)

Oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.)

Linoleic acid (C18:2) content (%) of 3

genotypes at different locations (N-S)

LocationGießenerÖlkürbis

Tschermak´s Ölkürbis

Hybrid3/76

Groß-Gerau, Germany 62.0 62.4 61.4Graz, Austria 59.7 60.9 56.0Nyiregyhaza, Hungary 61.0 60.4 60.8Novi Sad, Serbia 59.9 58.9 56.5Fundulea, Romania 54.9 55.4 53.1Eskisehir, Turkey 48.8 49.4 46.4Lakhmés, Tunisia 41.2 41.2 41.0(Schuster et al., 1983)

Oil pumpkin

Content of tocopherols in seeds of different

breeding lines (mg/kg)

Linealpha-

tocopherolgamma-

tocopherol

1 46 559 0 43

11 17 4718 14 41... ... ...45 64 56051 50 61074 91 59077 55 620

(Murkovic et al. 1996)

Tocopherols in general

• Tocopherols (“vitamin E”): alpha-, beta-,

gamma-, delta-isomers in different species

• antioxidant effect for vegetable oil (storability /

shelf life) and in human body

• differences in tocopherol content between

species (soybean: high, pumpkin: rather low)

• temperature effect: high temperature =

increased tocopherol content

Fatty acid pattern

• selection of a specific variety

• no significant influence of agronomy on fatty acid composition

• environment: low temperature during seed filling period reduces saturated fatty acids and increases poly-unsaturated fatty acids (C18:2, C18:3) in many species

• Optimize harvesting date and reduce mechanical damage of seed to avoid free fatty acids (FFA) and rancidity !

• storage at reduced moisture content / temperature

What can a farmer do ???

Protein crop species • soybean

• field pea

• faba bean

• common bean

• lupins

• lentil

• chickpea

• tropical / subtropical legumes: mung bean, cowpea etc.

• other legumes (alfalfa, clovers, vetches ...)

• crops with protein meal used as a by-product (e.g. rapeseed, sunflower and other oilseed meals)

Protein crop species General quality factors of food legumes for human food

and animal feed

Protein crop species

Quality of protein crops

• Protein quality/composition:

largely determined by genetic

background: amino acid

composition, amino acid sequence,

molecule size, 11S/7S etc.

• Protein content: crop specific

character, influenced by agronomy

and plant breeding

Protein quality

• concept of the “IDEAL PROTEIN”: a protein, in which no amino acid is present in a minimum concentration for nutrition (e.g. for pig fattening)

• biological value of a protein is given according to its distance from the “ideal protein”

• protein nutrition: plant proteins are dissolved to amino acids, di-peptides or tri-peptides, which are taken up

amino acid BAR WHE MAI SOY PEA RAP SUN FIS

Lysine 53 38 42 89 98 77 49 108

Methionine 87 81 118 78 54 111 122 155

Methionine + Cystine 104 91 118 87 69 120 103 105

Threonine 72 59 75 87 81 92 76 87

Tryptophan 94 97 63 113 98 107 100 96

Isoleucine 91 86 92 114 102 98 103 107

Leucine 85 81 150 96 87 87 79 91

Histidine 84 88 112 84 97 104 92 76

Phenylalanine 102 94 110 110 96 85 87 77

Phenylalan. + Tyrosine 132 115 122 129 86 97 113 90

Valine 97 77 88 91 88 91 89 92

Arginine 147 138 144 221 265 182 244 165

biological value 53 38 42 78 54 77 49 76

Amino acid pattern (g/160 g N) and biological value of

different protein sources as related to the ”ideal protein” for

pig feeding (Boisen, 1997)

Protein functions

• enzyme (e.g. lipoxygenase)

• storage protein

• taste

• structural protein

• solubility (food technology parameter)

• gelating properties (e.g. tofu)

• nutritional value

• antinutritional value / allergenic effect ...

Protein functions and characteristics

Protein content

• protein content of a set of soybean

genotypes grown in Gross Enzersdorf

from 1993-1998; considerable influence

of season; higher protein content in

seasons with high temperature and low

precipitation during the seed filling

period; consistent genetic differences

environmental and genetic influences on

soybean protein content

environmental and

genetic influences

on soybean protein

content Year

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

Se

ed

pro

tein

co

nte

nt

(g k

g-1

)

325

350

375

400

425

450

475 Apache

Ceresia

Proto

Ultra

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

275

300

325

350

375

400

425

450

475

a

b

Protein content - environmental influences

Location

GE PA GL

325

350

375

400

425

450

475

variation of

protein content

in a set of

soybean

genotypes in 3

environments

due to soil

fertility

differences

Protein content - environmental influences

variation of

protein content

(g/kg) in a

soybean field

(“iso-protein

lines”

describing field

trends) Column

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Row

1

2

3

4

5

0

-2

-2

-2-2-2

2

0

-2-4-4

0

0

-2

-2

-4

-4-4

-4

-4

-4

-4

-4-6

-6 -6

-6

6

4 2

2

00

00

0

0

-8

-8-8

-8-6

2

-4

00-2

22

2

2

2

6 6

6

6

4 4

4

4

4

-8

10

88

8

8

-10

-2

-2-2

-12

1212

10

10

1010

14

-4

-2

-2

-2 -4

-6

-6

-8

-4

-6

-6

12

-8

-8

-4

-6

14

-6

-8

-10-2

-4

340 370 400 430

Ge

no

typ

e

Ultra

Ottawa 127GiesoKalmit

LabradorLeopardPolankaDorenaCeresia

Ma.Arrow

M6X-89Dom

OAC FrontierCarusoLeman

Sundance

BirkaOttawa 68

HM-261

Nebraska

Apache

M6X-111OAC Vision

Proto

Nattosan

Seed protein content (g kg-1)

340 370 400 430 340 370 400 430

control inoculation nitrogen at R1

LSD0.05

me

an

=4

00

.2

me

an

=3

80

.0

me

an

=3

75

.1

LSD0.05

LSD0.05

similar reaction of a set of

soybean genotypes to

inoculation

(Bradyrhizobium

japonicum) or 50 kg/ha

nitrogen fertilizer with

respect to enhancement of

protein content

Protein content

agronomic influences

and genetic differences

in soybean protein

content

Negative

correlation

between protein

content and grain

yield (example

soybean)

hp_ha 97/98

yield estimate

0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0

seed p

rote

in

370

380

390

400

410

420

430

440

normal cross

high protein parent

standard

Plot 1 Regr

Protein correlations

Negative

correlation

between protein

and oil content

(soybean) seed protein content (g/kg)

400 410 420 430 440 450

oil

conte

nt (g

/kg)

160

170

180

190

200

Protein correlations

Rapeseed meal quality

• 00-genotypes: low erucic + low content of

glucosinolates; less than 20 µMol of

glucosinolates in fat-free meal minimizes

negative effects of feeding rapeseed meal

• sulfur fertilization increases glucosinolate

content

Glucosinolate content

Protein content

• selection of a variety with high protein content (reduces grain yield most probably!!!)

• apply late nitrogen fertilization (e.g. fertilization after heading date, urea-fertilization of rapeseed after flowering)

• inoculate soybean/legumes with rhizobial preparations to promote biological nitrogen fixation ( e.g. Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains)

What can a farmer do ?

Pischinger

Watzels-

dorf 2005

BOKU

Raasdorf

2005

Results from:

Protein screening 2 exp., 50 soybean genotypes, locations: BOKU (Raasdorf),

Pischinger (Watzelsdorf), 2005 season.

BOKU Pischinger

Pro

tein

gehalt (

g/k

g)

250

275

300

325

350

375

400

425

450

475

Soybean seed inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum

nodulation bacteria

Comparison: Protein content (%) of crops

• soybean 35-45 trypsin inhibitors

• pea 22-26 high starch content

• faba bean 28-35 tannins, mycotoxins

• lupins 30-50 alkaloids, oil content

• rapeseed 19-26 glucosinolate

• sunflower 15-20

• linseed 18-25 linamarine (glycoside)

• cereals 9-15

Species % prot remark

Amino acid composition

• low genetic variation in most species

(selection is very difficult)

• no significant environmental influence

• cereals: high in S-amino acids

• soybean: best source for lysine

• genetic manipulation of aspartate

pathway to increase lysine content

(Falco et al., 1995)

Aspartate family biosynthetic pathway

Grain legumes and their

ANFs (anti-nutritional factors)

• tannins

• protease inhibitors (e.g. Kunitz- trypsin inhibitor)

• alkaloids

• oligosaccharides

• phytate (phosphorus fixed in phytic acid)

• lipoxygenases

• haemagglutinins (lectins)

• many others

Grain legumes and their ANFs (anti-nutritional factors)

Kunitz trypsin inhibitor of soybean

Soybean Kunitz - trypsin inhibitor in

SDS PAGE type of electrophoresis

(absence of 21.5 kDa-protein in lanes

4, 6 and 8)

Kunitz trypsin inhibitor of soybean

Reduced

trypsin inhibitor

activity in

segregants free

of the Kunitz

protein band

Soybean trypsin inhibitor activity

Kunitz trypsin inhibitor

KTi+ KTi-trypsin

inhib

itor-

activity (

mg/g

)

60

80

100

120

140

Quality parameters of soybean

• oil content

• protein content

• methionine concentration

• trypsin inhibitors (Kunitz TI, Bowman-Birk-TI)

• hilum color

• oligosaccharides (raffinose, stachyose)

• activity of lipoxygenase (fat oxidation/beany flavour)

• linolenic acid content / saturated fatty acids

• tocopherol content

• isoflavone content

Food grade

and other

types of

soybean

seeds

Fibre crops

Fibres:

cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, lignin

Hairy fibres: cotton lint

Sclerenchymatic (& xylematic) fibres (“bast

fibres”): flax, hemp, stinging nettle, ramie, jute,

kenaf

Leaf fibres: e.g. sisal agave, fibre banana

Plant fibre quality

• fibre content

• fibre strength

• fibre length

• color

• cotton grades: color (from white to gray),

foreign matter content, smoothness /

roughness from harvest

• technical fibre characteristics

Fibre type and

oilseed types of

flax and their

different growth

habits

(Linum usitatissimum L.)

Flax stem cross-section

Cross-

section of

a flax

stem

Fibre-

bundles in

a flax

stem

Flax fibre yield

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.)

Effect of flax sowing date on fibre yield

Sowing date Straw yield (kg/ha) Fibre yield (kg/ha)

26 March 6235 15998 April 5148 1321

20 April 5094 129129 April 4616 1202

Flax: Long-day plant (photoperiodism); late sowing causes poor

vegetative development and low fibre yield due to a fixed flowering date

Flax fibre quality

• Water stress: reduction in number of fibre

bundles and plant height

• Nitrogen fertilisation: increase in plant

height, fibre length and stem diameter,

effect on long fibre content not consistent

• Genotypes: differences in straw yield,

plant height, fibre content and fibre

quality

Stinging Nettle

Fibre Hemp

Fibre content

of different

hemp cultivars

(Kriese et al.,

2002)

Fibre hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)

THC regulations in EU

• THC: delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol is the

psycho-active component in marijuana

• EU regulations (EC 1420/98): maximum

THC content of 0.2 % allowed in fibre

hemp varieties

• significant differences exist in registered

varieties (Mechtler et al., 2004)

THC content of

different hemp

genotypes:

range from 0.02 to

4.8 % THC (Kriese

et al., 2002)

THC content in single plants from different low-THC

cultivars grown for fibre in Austria (Mechtler et al., 2004)

Aspects of product quality in plant production

Quality of oilseeds, protein

crops and fibre plants

crop species

genetics

agronomy