A comparative study of oil, protein, and fatty acid content of 12 cultivars of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) grown from two regions in Shandong province, China

Abstract Peanut is a primary oil crop that is cultivated on a large scale in Shandong province, China. This study evaluated the oil, protein, and fatty acid compositions of different types of peanut cultivars growing in different ecological regions (Yantai and Heze) in Shandong province from 2019 to 2020. The results showed that the oil content ranged from 38.83% to 56.48%, and the protein content ranged from 21.80% to 31.65% among the studied sites. The oleic acid content and ratio of oleic acid to linoleic acid (O/L) ranged from 39.19% to 52.58% and from 0.92 to 1.77, respectively. Accessions TY107, TY109, and HS‐D‐1 were identified as the most promising oil varieties; HY20 and HY6314 were identified as optimal protein varieties; and HY9311, HY9310, and LH09‐2 were identified as promising varieties for oleic acid production. A significant and positive relationship between seed oil content and accumulated growing degree days (GDD) and insolation duration demonstrated that environments with high temperatures and a long insolation duration promoted oil synthesis. However, a positive relationship was observed only between GDD and protein content. Based on the meteorological conditions of Shandong province, the southwest (such as Heze) is an optimal region for cultivating peanuts with high oil content; the east (Yantai) is most suitable for high‐protein peanut production. The results indicate that the growing conditions should carefully be considered for sustainable and healthy development of the peanut industry as climate variables will likely influence seed composition, thus affecting the suitability for various end uses.