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The dynamics of changing climatic factors and the study of the impact they have on cultivated crops is an area that needs to be carefully and thoroughly researched in order to adequately address the future challenges of human nutrition. The present study concerned the influence of major environmental factors on some morphological and economic characteristics of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), which is a main oil crop in Bulgaria. Development and selection of parental lines with stabilized morphological and economic parameters is a main point of the heterosis breeding in sunflower. This study was carried out during 2009-2011 at Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute - General Toshevo. The three years of the investigation differed by the sum of vegetative rainfalls. The investigation involved 10 doubled haploid fertility restorer lines. The analysis of the results showed that the year conditions and the genotype of the investigated lines had a significant effect (p=0.001) on the studied morphological traits and on the oil content in seeds. The combined influence of these two factors was not significant on plant height and oil content. The head diameter was influenced to a much higher degree by the year conditions than the plant height. The oil content in seed was the trait with lowest variation during the period of investigation in comparison to the two morphological traits. The highest values of the morphological traits and the content of oil in seed were determined in the warm and humid year 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]