Hari Prakash Meena

This is the first study to examine the combined inheritance of hypocotyl pigmentation and ray floret color in the newly developed sunflower mutant PYRS-1 and its implications for breeding efforts. Analysis of F₁ and F₂ ^s of the reciprocal crosses between two contrasting genotypes, viz., CMS-1001B (green hypocotyl with yellow ray florets) and PYRS-1 (purple hypocotyl with pale-yellow ray florets) indicated dominant inheritance of purple over green hypocotyl pigmentation and yellow over pale yellow ray florets. Backcrosses with green hypocotyl and pale-yellow ray floret parents consistently exhibited a 1:1 ratio, highlighting the recessive nature of the green hypocotyl and pale-yellow ray floret traits. The joint segregation analysis showed that hypocotyl and ray floret colors are not linked and segregate independently in a 9:3:3:1 ratio. Therefore, these traits could be used individually as morphological markers in genetic studies to determine the genetic purity of F₁ hybrid seeds and estimate the rate of outcrossing in sunflower. To identify molecular markers associated with ray floret color, two SSR primers viz., ORS 812 (LG 15) and ORS 785 (LG 4) out of 56 markers displaying parental polymorphism were able to differentiate the ray floret phenotypes in the F₂ and BC₁ individual samples. The markers ORS 812 and ORS 785 were found to be linked to flower color with PVE of 48.95 and 43.23%, respectively. A QTL (qPY15.1) region associated with pale yellow petal color was mapped between ORS 812 and ORS 8 with a LOD score of 7.01. The study underscores the importance of understanding the inheritance pattern of hypocotyl pigmentation and ray floret color in the sunflower crop, as these traits have implications for breeding goals. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-026-04942-5.

Evaluation and validation of 358 Indian-origin and exotic inbred lines of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) was done over two years toidentify trait-specific inbreds with desirable agronomical features for genetic improvement. The analysis of variance exhibited significant differences among the genotypes for most of the agronomic traits studied, which favor selection. Positive correlations were recorded among the various characters in the improvement of seed yield, particularly for plant height, head diameter, and 100 seed weight. Cluster analysis grouped 163 inbreds under Cluster V, which included genotypes with medium maturity, high oil content and good yielding ability. The clustering pattern indicated the association between geographic diversity and genetic diversity. The first principal component accounted for 75% of the total variation in the population. The most important trait that contributed more to the variation in PC1 was plant height (0.989), followed by the number of leaves per plant (0.113). The second principal component accounted for 87% of the total variation and was positively associated with days to 50% flowering (0.674) and days to maturity (0.654), whereas it was negatively associated with seed yield per plant (-0312). Several trait-specific inbred lines were identified using multivariate analysis that may serve as potential breeding material/parental lines for effective utilization in the heterosis breeding programme for developing agronomically superior heterotic sunflower hybrids.