The use of crop wild relatives in sunflower breeding for drought response

Abstract

One of the major limitations for agricultural productivity around the world, particularly in warm, arid and semi-arid regions, is water stress. Drought is the most restraining factor in sunflower production worldwide, severely reducing yield, oil volume, oil quality, and other important yield traits. Sunflower, being a crop with medium water requirements (Ky<1), has the ability to tolerate a short period of drought. The future of sunflower is probably related to its potential adaptation to climate change The challenge for the sunflower breeding community is to breed sunflower adaptable to these marginal environments and at the same time to increase seed yield. To develop drought-tolerant lines and hybrids in sunflower breeding, breeders need to be aware of the relationship between drought resistance traits and yield and apply effective screening methods for these traits. Genotypes should have such advantages as enhanced leaf area, earliness, and earlier stomatal closure.