VARIABIL AND ASSOCIATION STUDIES OF SEED AND PLANT CHARACTERS AFFECTINC GERMINABILITY UNDER DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS IN SUNFLOWER.

Variability and association of different seed and plant characters affecting germination in sunflower was studied in three different environments. The environments were created by sowing the experiment in three different months i.e. January 19th (E1), February 4th (E2), and March 2nd (E3). The analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for different characters under different environments. The results revealed that day temperatures (36.1°C to 42.8 °C) and night temperatures ranging from 14.5-25.0°C during the reproductive stage of the crop are the critical factors for determining seed yield and its component characters in sunflower. In E1 medium duration parental lines with larger head diameter and higher 1000-seed weight produced seed with better germination. In E2, short duration parental lines with medium height and large head diameter having high protein and high linoleic acid exhibited high percent germination. In E3, lines having larger head diameter, bolder seeds with high oleic acid and low protein content gave better germination of the seed produced. Large head diameter was the only character showing positive association with genninability of the seed produced in all the three environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]