Effect of Environmental Factor on the Seed Yield and Oil Content of Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L)

A field experiment was conducted on a Farm in Ekiti South-West Nigeria (Lat.7’37’23 N and log 5’13’15E with 1440 ft. above sea level) to evaluate the performance of two Sunflower genotypic varieties (SAMSUN 1 and SAMSUN 2) as affected by the geographical location and abiotic factors. Soil analysis result showed pH of 5. During the vegetative stage, 61cm was recorded as the highest plant height for SAMSUN 1 and 46cm was recorded as the highest plant height for SAMSUN 2.  The number of leaves of SAMSUN 1 was 28 and 24 for SAMSUN 2 after 84days of planting. 1.8cm was recorded as the final stem diameter for SAMSUN 1 and 1.6cm for SAMSUN 2.  Harvesting of seeds was carried after 124days of planting; the seed yield for SAMSUN 1 was 3.74kg and 2.96kg for SAMSUN 2. Proximate analysis on the seeds showed that SAMSUN 1 contained 5.88% moisture,1.58% ash, 7.10% crude protein, 3.35% fat and 3.35% crude fiber while SAMSUN 2 contain 4.37% moisture, 2.05% ash, 6.45% crude protein, 4.16% fat and 4.16% crude fiber.  Oil extraction was carried out on the seeds of the Sunflower using a Soxlet apparatus and n- hexane as the extraction solvent. 400ml and 460ml of sunflower oil were recorded for the two varieties respectively. The oil composition analysis showed that SAMSUN 1 contained 5.37% moisture, 0.74% ash and 11.91% crude protein and SAMSUM 2 contained 7.12% moisture, 0.72% ash and 13.93% crude protein. The result of the experiment was compared with that from the northern region of Nigeria where it is predominately cultivated.  It can be concluded after the whole experiment that sunflower will give more yield and oil in the northern region of Nigeria.