Review of 40 years of research carried out in Serbia on sunflower pollination

Abstract

Sunflower pollination has been a subject of research for more than 40 years at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia. Since the first experiments in 1970s, the importance of climatic conditions was acknowledged and analyzed as a key factor for the performance of plants and pollinators. Climatic conditions, disease and pest problems changed significantly during this period, but sunflower production technology and breeding also advanced making seed production more stable. Nonetheless, the quality of agronomic practices still varies which also reflects on the plant and pollinator performance. Sunflower breeding led to improved germplasm which still maintains high degree of variability for nectar content and pollinator attractivity. Pollinators are essential in crosses involving cytoplasmic male sterile lines, but are also beneficial in hybrid sunflower seed production. Pollinator attractivity is thus an important trait for both breeders and producers and worth to be considered as a quality trait in sunflower breeding programs.