Quality characters of flax landraces in Gansu

116 local flax varieties and germplasm in Gansu were measured and investigated with respect to fat content,five main fatty acids and iodin value were analysed.The results showed that the average contents of fat,palmitic acid,stearic acid,oleic acid,linoleic acid,linolenic acid and iodin value in Gansu local varieties were(37.48%,) 5.90%,5.32%,29.05%,10.94%,48.76% and 175.60,respectively.The fat content of these germplasm was lower and the contents of oleic acid and linolenic acid were higher than cultivars extended widely.Among five fatty acids,the variation of palmitic acid,linoleic acid,linolenic acid were not as large as that of stearic acid and oleic acid.The correlations of these quality characters were different.Fat content was significantly positively correlated with linoleic acid,but significantly negatively correlated with stearic acid.Linolenic acid was significantly negatively correlated with palmitic acid,stearic acid,oleic acid and linoleic acid,but were significantly positively correlated with the iodin value.Palmitic acid was significantly positively correlated with oleic acid.Stearic acid was significantly positively correlated with oleic acid,and oleic acid was significantly negatively correlated with the iodin value.Accessions with high fat content,oleic acid and linolenic acid contents were identified.