Evaluation of Combining Ability in Ornamental Sunflower for Floral and Morphological Traits

Ornamental sunflowers are widely cultivated for use as cut flowers and/or as garden plants. The objective of the study was to investigate breeding values of new F-1 ornamental sunflower hybrids using incomplete diallel crossing of four ornamental inbred lines: Heliopa, Talia, Iskra and Neoplanta. Six traits important for ornamental market use were studied. Additive gene effects prevailed in most tested traits except for lateral floral diameter and duration of lateral flowering, which exhibited non-additive effects. The results indicated that the Talia x Neoplanta hybrid combination was the most promising for cut flowers due to long and strong branches, relatively big lateral flowers while Heliopa x Iskra and Heliopa x Talia hybrids were suitable for use as garden plants due to strong plant habit, long flowering time and desirable plant height. The results obtained from this study will be helpful for further ornamental sunflower breeding.