'Plant Breeding: Sustaining the Future' Abstracts of the XVIth EUCARPIA Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland, 10-14 September 2001 ACHIEVEMENTS OF SUNFLOWER BREEDING D. SKORIC Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia

Over 5000 inbred lines and a rich collection of wild species and interspecific hybrids that are part of our institute's sunflower breeding programme are a good basis for success in our future breeding work. The existing genetic divergence enables the development of hybrids with a genetic potential of 7t/ha and an oil yield of 3 t/ha. Unfortunately, the extent of realisation of these genetic potentials in commercial production has been rather low due to certain limiting factors, namely susceptibility to pathogens and stress (drought). In order for sunflower to be competitive in commercial production relative to pathogens and stress in wild species and incorporating them into cultivated sunflower genotypes using interspecific hybridisation. Thus far, genes for resistance to rust, downey mildew, Verticcium and broomrape have been found. Further high tolerance to Phomipsis and Macrophomina has been developed based on interspecific hybridisation. Also, genotypes with high tolerance to stress conditions (drought) have been obtained. The quality of sunflower oil has been altered. Unfortunately, the genus Helianthus does not contain sources of resistance to a number of pathogens.