General Pattern of Oil Formation

In a number of seeds there appear to be distinct phases of development related to the time of oil formation  

An initial or lag phase. This is when there is no fatty acid synthesis. The length of this phase varies from species to species (and even in the same species under varying environmental conditions [168]). In castor bean (Table 3.2) it lasts 20-25 days after pollination during which time the embryo and seed coat develop [38, 201], in rape seed for the first 4 weeks of development [136], and for the first 10-15 days in safflower [113, 169]. The delay before the initiation of fatty acid synthesis is due to the absence from the developing tissue of 

days after Palmitic Oleic Linoleic Linolenic Ricinoleic 

Rapid synthesis of fatty acids. This lasts about 20 days in the rape and safflower embryo and in the castor bean endosperm [38, 113, 136] (Table 3.2). By the end of this phase over 90% of the reserves have been accumulated (Table 3.3). While there appears to be little controversy over the pathways 

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