Correlation of maturity groups with seed composition in soybeans, as influenced by genotypic variation

Seeds of 19 soybean cultivars (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) with maturity grou ps V, VI or VII were analyzed for proximate composition, fatty acids and st erols. Protein, oil, carbohydrate and ash contents varied between 344-463 g kg(-1), 178-233 g kg(-1), 234-338 g kg(-1) and 40.0-49.3 g kg(-1) of dry m atter, respectively. Fatty acid profiles revealed that the major acids were palmitic (9.2-12.5%), oleic (17.7-22.1%) and linoleic (53.6-56.9%). Linole nic acid ranged from 8.6 to 10.4%. Sitosterol (48.1-56.8%) was the main com ponent of the sterol fraction, followed by campesterol (18.4-21.7%) and sti gmasterol (13.4-18.0%). Statistically significant differences between genot ypes were found for the majority of parameters evaluated, but there are not significant variations among maturity groups.