Proceedings of the XLV Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress

Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy - 26/29 September, 2001

ISBN 88-900622-1-5

Poster Abstract

SPECIFIC COMBINING ABILITY OF HIGH OLEIC SUNFLOWER (HELIANTHUS ANNUUS L.) RESTORER LINES

DEL GATTO A., LAURETI D.

Istituto Sperimentale per le Colture Industriali,Via 5 Torri, 26, 60027, Osimo-Italy

Tel, Fax + 0717132345

isciosim@libero.it

To evaluate the suitability of high oleic sunflower restorers, resistant to downy mildew, to be used as the pollinator in hybrid combinations, during 1999, 66 test crosses were made using 25 F₅ and 43 F₃ with the high oleic form of the line cms HA89, susceptible to downy mildew, OL9. The test crosses were cropped, in 2000 in irrigated and rainfed conditions with two replications in Osimo, East-Central Italy, together with 6 high linoleic controls. On the average irrigation was significant vs non irrigation, but some test crosses had yielded better under drought then under irrigated conditions. A control had the highest mean yield, but many test crosses yielded as much as the control. The same control had the best yield under irrigated conditions, but under rainfed conditions some test crosses had a significantly higher yield. The lower yield of some test crosses under irrigation points out the need to test sunflower under many environments; this also indicates that the starting germplasm was more buffered against drought perhaps due to lower resistance against other diseases not recorded in the trial. For the very dry season, the resistance of the test crosses to downy mildew not an advantage. The best F₅ test crosses could be used as commercial high oleic hybrids.