Harvest date as a factor affecting crop yield, oil content and fatty acid composition of the seeds of calendula (Calendula officinalis L.) cultivars

Published Date
Industrial Crops and Products
March 2017, Vol.97:242–251, doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.12.029

• Author 

• Beata Król ^a,,
• Tadeusz Paszko ^b

• aDepartment of Industrial and Medicinal Plants, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 15, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
• bUniversity of Life Sciences in Lublin, Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, Akademicka 15, 20-950 Lublin, Poland

Received 7 June 2016. Revised 11 December 2016. Accepted 19 December 2016. Available online 26 December 2016. 

Highlights

• •
  The highest seed and oil yield was achieved at 65% maturity of seeds.
• •
  Harvest dates affected the fatty acids composition.
• •
  Yielding was dependent on the seed type, flower head number and climate factors.
• •
  Yield prediction of individual cultivars is possible based on the above factors.

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in calendula (Calendula officinalisL.), as an oil-bearing plant whose seeds contain unique polyunsaturated fatty acids that can be used in pharmaceutical, paint and coatings industries. The influence of harvest date on seed yield and oil biosynthesis in calendula seeds has not been widely researched. A three-year field experiment was carried out to examine the effect of harvest dates at 50%, 65% and 80% seed maturity on the yield and fatty acid composition of seven calendula cultivars. The highest seed (1096–1950 kg ha⁻¹) and oil (181–391 kg ha⁻¹) yield and the highest oil content (16.39–20.55%) were achieved when calendula plants were harvested with 65% of mature seeds, and yields were somewhat smaller with 80% of mature seeds. The oil from calendula seeds harvested at 80% seed maturity was characterized by the highest content of α-calendic acid (43.60%–54.39%) and the lowest content of the remaining fatty acids. The Partial Least Squares Regression analysis revealed that oil (r² = 95.8) and seed (r² = 98.1) yield depends on the morphological features of the examined cultivars, such as the number of flower heads, percentage of morphological seed types and climatic factors (mean temperature and total precipitation during the growing season). The results clearly indicate that seed and oil yield was highest in cultivars with the highest percentage of winged and hooked seeds and the highest number of flower heads.

Keywords

Calendula

Harvest date

Seed maturity

Seed yield

Calendic acid

Seed types

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• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author.

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