Correlation of maturity groups with seed composition in soybeans, as influenced by genotypic variation

Abstract

Seeds of 19 soybean cultivars (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) with maturity groups V, VI or VII were analyzed for proximate composition, fatty acids and sterols. Protein, oil, carbohydrate and ash contents varied between 344-463 g kg-1, 178-233 g kg-1, 234-338 g kg-1, and 40.0-49.3 g kg-1 of dry matter, respectively. Fatty acid profiles revealed that the major acids were palmitic (9.2-12.5%), oleic (17.7-22.1%) and linoleic (53.6-56.9%). Linolenic acid ranged from 8.6 to 10.4%. Sitosterol (48.1-56.8%) was the main component of the sterol fraction, followed by campesterol (18.4-21.7%) and stigmasterol (13.4-18.0%). Statistically significant differences between genotypes were found for the majority of parameters evaluated, but there are not significant variations among maturity groups.