Effects of sulphur application on growth, yield, oil content, and fatty acid composition of selected varieties of Helianthus annuus L.

Résumé fourni par la source

Helianthus annuus . L is an aesthetic and commercial oilseed crop rich in nutritional value. This ranks third among crucial oilseed crops after cotton, rapeseed, and mustard. Unfortunately, locally it produces only 18% of the required edible oil due to inadequate and improper fertilization practices to fulfill the demands of the nation. In this study, uniform field experiments were conducted in Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan (2024 to 2025) under five different treatments to explore the highest oil content, fatty acids profile, and growth-attributing traits of five sunflower varieties, viz. Hysun-33; NK-265; SMH-0917; SF-187; and HO-1, in the Kharif season. The data were arranged under a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The results of our study indicated that Hysun-33 exhibited the highest plant height (245.6 cm), stem diameter (5.7), flower head diameter (22.5 cm), number of achene heads − 1 (1397.1), seed index (1000-seeds weight 65.4 g), achene yield (3233.5 kg ha − 1 ), and maximum (62.5%) oil content at Sulphur 60 kg ha − 1 . The composition of fatty acids was different among varieties of sunflower seeds. The highest seed oil content, oil composition (linoleic and oleic acid most abundant, whereas palmitic acid least abundant), and maximum morphological attributes were recorded in Hysun-33, NK-265, SMH-0917, and it was recommended that these varieties performed better under T 5 . This study provided a reference and theoretical support for understanding sunflower varieties to promote the processing and utilization of seeds to fulfil the demands of consumers.