Evaluation and characterization of sunflower germplasm accessions for quantitative characters

Sunflower germplasm accessions (143) were evaluated for yield and yield contributing characters to study the extentof variation for different quantitative traits. The germplasm accessions were also characterized on qualitative traits. Highest phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were recorded for seed yield per plant (53.4% and 46.9% respectively) followed by head diameter, test weight, plant height, volume weight and oil content. High heritability was noticed for all the traits studied. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance over mean has been recorded for seed yield per plant (77 and 65.1) followed by head diameter, test weight and plant height. It was noticed that sunflower germplasm accessions exhibited wide range of variability for all the morphological characters studied like leaf shape, leaf color, leaf serrations, leaf hairiness, stem hairiness, indicator leaf, petiole anthocyanin, branching, leaf angle, petiole length, stem pigmentation and pollen color.