Variability of reproductive traits in sunflower genotypes with different content of fatty acids and tocopherols in seeds

The aim of the work was to study the reproductive characteristics of sunflower genotypes with altered composition of fatty acids and tocopherols in seeds. Studies were conducted in 2017, 2020 and 2022 at the VNIIMK, Krasnodar. The material was a high oleic hybrid of sunflower Oxy with a modified composition of tocopherols, as well as its maternal VK 876 and male VK 195 parent lines. Moreover 19 samples of the genetic collection were studied. The assessment of bee attendance showed significant hereditary variability from 98 to 0.5 bee/plant/hour. The Oxy confirmed a low level of bee attendance, on average, 14 bee/plant/hour. The lines with the maximum values of bee attendance MVG-8 and K 2479 showed a greater amount of nectar and a high level of its sugar content than the genotypes with the minimum values of bee attendance. The data obtained confirm the main role of the nectar of tubular flowers in the pollinator attractiveness. The Oxy had a low pollen grain diameter of 29 microns, a high proportion of defective pollen grains of 37%, a low level of self-fertility of 19% and the seed setting of 47%. The transmission of these negative traits to the hybrid comes from the maternal line of VK 876, and not from the male form of VK 195, which is characterized by normal reproductive traits. The content of oleic acid did not significantly correlate with any of the seven reproductive traits. Correlation coefficients were established: the amount of nectar – bee attendance (0.57), the amount of nectar – sugar content of nectar (0.55), the amount of nectar – the number of defective pollen grains (-0.55), the number of defective pollen grains – self-fertility (-0.72), the number of defective pollen grains – seed setting (-0.47) and a self-fertility – seed setting (0.60). Mutations of high oleic Ol and the composition of tocopherols tph1 and tph2 did not have a pleiotropic effect on reproductive traits in the lines of the genetic collection.