ABSTRACT
Thousands of plaints, cultivated and wild, bear enough of some type of oil in their seeds to warrant possible consideration as economic crops, including annuals, perennials and trees. Many grow successfully on arid, hilly, waterlogged or saline soils, and others require good soil. The diversity apparent in the study of oilseeds extends to the molecular level, with an astonishing variety of fatty acids available from the many triglycerides present in seed oils. If oilseeds are to be developed further as chemical and fuel resources, to complement their already substantial contribution to world food and feed supplies, many problems must be solved. Seed oils are already significant sources of chemicals and likely to grow in importance, as Pryde and others have noted. In the case of seed oil fuels, the economics may not yet be favorable, and alternative land uses, existing cropping practices, entrenched interests, and the lack of public policy support also constitute major obstacles to change.
