Augmentation, characterization, maintenance, evaluation and utilization of sunflower germplasm

Abstract

Germplasm is the basic material to tap the beneficial genes and to launch a hybridization programme in any crop plant. Morphological characterization and evaluation of seedling and plant would generally be considered for varietal identification. It is mandatory for breeders to characterize their material before registration with PVP& FR Authority, India. The problem which limits the use of sunflower germplasm includes the heterogeneity in the introduced germplasm low genetic variability in the cultivar germplasm, for agronomic characteristics, for new diseases and pests, cross ability barriers between cultivated and wild sunflower and exploitation of only few introductions in the crop improvement programmes. Hence, it is essential to characterize the already existing germplasm lines for morphological and agronomical traits/characters. Success in plant breeding primarily depends on the nature and magnitude of variation present in the germplasm. Characterization based on the qualitative characters is useful in their identification, because of the reliability of qualitative attributes over environments.