An evaluation of the factors influencing seed oil production in Camellia reticulata L. plants

Camellia seed oil is well known for its industrial uses. However, despite the increasing use of this oil, few studies have investigated which factors impact seed oil production. Thus, the aims of this study are to identify which factors influence the percentage seed oil of Camellia reticulata, a by investigating both seed and environmental variables. Firstly, fruit traits were studied and correlated against percentage seed oil data, and then environmental variables linked to seed oil production were investigated. The first experiments analyzed how well fruit characteristics (size, length, weight, seed number, seed oil) of the Camellia plants predict percentage seed oil. The second experiment modelled the effect of environmental variables (soil, elevation, temperature and rainfall) on seed oil production. The results indicated that the kernel ratio per fruit, seed weight to fruit weight ratio and fruit weight positively influenced percentage seed oil while, when these previous effects are accounted for, the number of seeds reduced percentage seed oil. The environmental model showed that seed oil was influenced most strongly by elevation and soil type, with haplic Acrisols providing the highest seed oil. Thus it is clear that Camellia seed oil is affected by a variety of factors, and these should be taken into account when selecting species and cultivars for the planting of Camellia stands for oil production. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.