Association between seed yield and some morphological characteristics in sunflower

Abstract

Objective of this study was to determine the divergence and association between seed yield and three morphological characteristics that are very important in sunflower breeding (plant height, head diameter and days to flowering) in order to identify the most valuable trait for seed yield improvement. Forty new hybrid combinations were evaluated. Cluster analysis was used to determine genetic diversity in new hybrid combinations by classifying genotypes based on average values of the studied characteristics. Genotypes were classified into three homogenous groups and six individuals. Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to examine association between the studied characteristics, among which days to flowering showed negative correlation while plant height and head diameter showed positive correlation with seed yield, on both genotypic and phenotypic levels. Our study showed that there is genetic variability among new hybrids and bearing in mind that hybrids should be grown in different agro-ecological environments, our attention should be focused on developing inbred lines with lower stem resistant to lodging, larger head diameter and earlier flowering.

Keywords

• cluster analysis
• correlation coefficients
• days to flowering
• head diameter
• morphological characteristics
• plant height
• seed yield
• sunflower