Genetic behavior and impact of various quantitative traits on oil contents in sunflower under waters stress conditions at productive phase

The research pertaining to the genetic behavior and impact of various quantitative traits on oil contents in sunflower under water stress conditions at reproductive stage in ten accessions (G-5 G-3, G-9, G-33, G-57, G-93, G-128, A-133, A-75 and HBRS-2) of sunflower was conducted following a triplicate randomized complete block design. The genotypes exhibited significant varietal differences among them for all the characters studied. Whorls per head (0.53) and number of leaves (0.66) displayed highest genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation respectively. Heritability in broad sense was the maximum for oil contents (0.715±0.346) followed by achene yield per plant (0.499±0.289) with considerable values of genetic advances indicating the involvement of some additive effects in the inheritance of these traits. Total leaf area exhibited the uppermost value of genetic advance (77.088) with moderate heritability (45±2.76). Plant height showed positive and significant genotypic association with leaf area and achene yield. Similarly number of leaves displayed positive and significant correlation (r=0.727*) with total leaf area and oil contents at genotypic level. The parameters stem diameter, head diameter, whorls per head and fertile whorls per head demonstrated positive and significant genotypic and phenotypic relationship between them. The number of whorls per head disclosed positive genetic association (r=0.625*) with oil contents while oil contents were negative associated with hundred achene weight (r= -0.768*). Path analysis based on oil content as dependent variable revealed that number of leaves, total leaf area, stem diameter and achene yield exerted positive direct effects on the oil contents being stem diameter at the top of the list. Stem diameter exposed the highest indirect positive effects on oil contents through head diameter, whorls per head and fertile whorls per head. These studies revealed that the selection of traits positively associated with oil contents and having positive direct and indirect effects on it could be an efficient selection criteria for oil contents in sunflower.