Relationships between seed oil content and fatty acid composition in high stearic acid sunflower

The high stearic acid sunflower mutant CAS-3 is characterized by a low seed oil content, which might represent a constraint for the commercial production of high stearic acid sunflower oil. The objective of the present research was to investigate the relationships between fatty acid profile and seed oil content in CAS-3. Plants of CAS-3 were reciprocally crossed with plants of breeding line ADV-37, with high oil content and standard fatty acid profile. Oil content and fatty acid composition were measured in individual F₂ seeds and F₂ plants (F₃ seeds averaged). Both F₂ seeds and F₂ plants from the cross ADV-37 × CAS-3 had a significantly higher oil content than those from the reciprocal cross, which indicated the existence of cytoplasmic effects in the genetic control of the trait. A consistent negative correlation between oil content and palmitic acid and a positive correlation between oil content and oleic acid were detected both in F₂ seeds and F₂ plants. Conversely, no consistent correlation between oil content and stearic acid was observed, which suggested the feasibility of simultaneous selection for both traits.     

Variation of hullability and other seed characteristics among sunflower lines and hybrids

Summary The hullabilities of 40 inbred lines (20 male sterility maintainers and 20 male fertility restorers) and 36 hybrids were studied in several environments in France. Thousand seed weight, oil and hull contents and the quantity of hulls remaining with the kernel after hulling were also measured. Principal component analyses and a hierarchical clustering method were used to described the variation of both inbreds and hybrids. Hullability varied from 11 to 66% for inbreds and 16 to 60% for hybrids. This variation is sufficient to permit breeding programmes for this character. Hullability is correlated positively with hull content (r=0.35^* to 0.69^*) but negatively with oil content (r=–0.34^*to–0.71^**). Large seeds generally hull better than small seed (r=0.21ns to –0.66^**). The value of the different classes of genotypes is discussed. Inbreds and hybrids producing achenes with a quite small hull content, a high oil content but a good hullability are the most promising for improvement of the quality of sunflower seed meal. Such genotypes are rare so that a recurrent selection programme is recommended to increase the frequency of favorable genes.     

利用种子蛋白聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳鉴定向日葵种子纯度的研究

采用种子贮存蛋白SDS-PAGE技术，对13份向日葵杂交种和自交系进行了鉴别，结果表明，它们的种子蛋白电泳图谱差异明显，特征谱带稳定。种子蛋白电泳鉴定与田间小区种植鉴定种子纯度结果之间存在极显著的线性正相关性。该技术可作为向日葵杂交种和自交系种子纯度鉴定的一种新手段。     

A new sunflower high oleic mutation confers stable oil grain fatty acid composition across environments

The oil industry demands sunflower oils with high oleic acid content. New varieties producing high oleic oils independently of the growing environment are needed as growers could receive an extra prime for offering them. Oil fatty acid composition of high oleic sunflower hybrids currently available carrying the Pervenets mutation could however be affected by the temperature during the grain filling period. A new high oleic mutation has been obtained to attain oils with ultra-high oleic levels (>90%oleic acid content). This new structural mutation would be able to reduce the variation in oleic acid percentage to changes in the minimum night temperature (MNT). The aim of this work was to assess the response of oil fatty acid composition of the new high oleic mutation to MNT compared to traditional and Pervenets genotypes. Field experiments in different sowing dates and locations and one growth chambers experiment were performed to explore a wide range of temperatures (11.8–23.2 °C) during grain filling. The oleic acid percentage in traditional and high oleic Pervenets genotypes varied between 15.0–50.9% and 87.4–91.2%, respectively, while the new mutation genotype presented values of oleic acid between 91.3 and 92.5%. Moreover, the oleic acid percentage of traditional and Pervenets genotypes showed a linear and positive response to temperature (slopes 2.95 and 0.28%oleic acid °C⁻¹, respectively). No response to temperature was detected in the new mutation genotype. The ultra-high oleic quality from the new high oleic sunflower mutant could be obtained in a wide range of environments as the fatty acid composition was not affected by temperature during grain filling, representing an advantage over the high oleic Pervenets and traditional genotypes.     

Dynamics of oil and tocopherol accumulation in sunflower grains and its impact on final oil quality

Tocopherols are one of the most important bioactive compounds in vegetable oils. It is known that these antioxidants present a dilution like relationship with oil weight per grain but the mechanism underlying this relationship are unknown. The aim of this work was to analyze the dynamics of tocopherol accumulation in sunflower grains, its relationship with oil accumulation and its effects on final oil quality in genotypes with different fatty acid composition. Three field experiments were conducted with genotypes with different potential fatty acid composition (a traditional, a high oleic and a high stearic−high oleic) and treatments with different source (intercepted solar radiation) or sink (grains) during grain filling to obtain varied grain filling conditions and grains with different oil concentration and oil unsaturation. Intercepted solar radiation modified oil per grain but did not affect tocopherol per grain. The rate of accumulation explained 79% and 74% of the oil and tocopherol per grain variation, respectively. When intercepted solar radiation increased, the duration of the period of oil and tocopherols accumulation increased, being the first the most responsive. These differences in the duration of accumulation periods are reflected in a larger relative increase in oil than tocopherols per grain and thus a dilution of the latter in the oil. These differences in the dynamics of oil and tocopherol accumulation are common to genotypes with different level of unsaturation. These results help to understand the mechanism associated with the dilution curve of oil tocopherol concentration reported in the literature.     

良种推广中存在的问题及对策

<正>新品种的推广应用是农业生产中最直接、最经济、最有效的技术措施,也是农业产业结构调整的主要内容和突破口。十五期间,国家投入了大量资金,实施了     

Reproductive behaviour and broomrape resistance in interspecific hybrids of sunflower

Interspecific hybrids and backcross generations between the wild perennial species Helianthus resinosus, Helianthus paucifiorus, Helianthus laevigatus, Helianthus nuttallii ssp. nuttallii T. & G. and Helianthus giganteus, resistant to broomrape (Orobanche cernua) and susceptible inbred lines were obtained to study crossability to cultivated sunflower and the transmission and expression of resistance to this parasitic weed. Conventional crosses with all the species tested were successful except for the crosses with diploid H. giganteus, for which embryo rescue techniques were needed to overcome hybrid incompatibility. Pollen viability and seed set were highest for F₁ hybrids with hexaploid species and lowest for those with the diploid H. giganteus. We evaluated F₁, BC₁F₁, some BC₂F₁ plants and the wild and cultivated parents. The wild species and interspecific hybrids were resistant to broomrape infection except for H. nuttallii, which showed segregation, indicating that the resistance is dominant. The crossability and resistance of F₁, and back-cross generations of species with different ploidy levels indicate that the transfer of broomrape resistance to cultivated sunflower is feasible.     

高海拔山区良种推广存在的问题与对策

泸州市位于四川盆地东南部,毗邻滇、黔、渝。泸州南部的叙永、古蔺两县地处四川盆地与云贵高原过渡地带,地势北低南高,最高海拔1902m,最低海拔247m,立体气候明显;800m以上高海拔山区（以下简称山区）有效积温偏少、雨日多,春秋季常有低温危害,常年水稻、玉米播种面积在2．7万hm^2左右，耕作水平低，产量不高。《中华人民共和国种子法》（以下简称《种子法》）实施以来，新品种更新、     

小麦品种的种性加工与良种繁育

小麦是我国重要的粮食作物之一，其产量高低对于保障国家粮食安全和实现人民安居乐业具有重要的战略意义。在提高小麦生产水平及单产的途径中，搞好小麦种子生产与加工是重要措施之一。尤其是加入WTO后，国外种业及优质小麦将对我国的小麦市场产生较大的冲击。因此，不仅要加强优良品种的推广，而且要对现有品种的种性进行加工提高，以进一步完善和优化品种结构，增加小麦原粮市场的竞争力，使农户的经济利益得到切实的保障。本文对小麦品种种性加工与良种繁育技术进行探讨。１小麦种性加工的理论基础对现有小麦品种进行种性的提高与再加…     

Evaluation of grain yield and related agronomic traits of quality protein maize hybrids in Southern Africa

Maize is the major staple food in southern Africa with human consumption averaging 91 kg capita^?1 year^?1, and normal maize is nutritionally deficient in two essential amino acids: tryptophan and lysine. Despite the development of quality protein maize (QPM) with high tryptophan and lysine, stunting and kwashiorkor remain high in sub-Saharan Africa due to lack of high yielding and adapted QPM varieties. This study aimed at evaluating a new generation of QPM varieties for yield and related agronomic traits. Before the QPM varieties were validated on-farm, they were simultaneously selected on-station under five different management conditions. In the 2014/2015 season, 10 elite QPM varieties were selected from on-station trials based on high grain yield and stability, and were compared with the best commercial check varieties on-farm. During the 2015/2016 season, some poorly performing QPM varieties were dropped while new ones were added, resulting in 12 elite QPM varieties being evaluated on-farm. Analysis of variance for the 2014/2015 season showed non-significant hybrid × management condition interaction. Mean grain yields across management conditions ranged from 1.5 to 4 t ha^?1 and were higher under mild stress (2.3–5.5 t ha^?1) compared to random stress conditions (1.1–2.9 t ha^?1). Broad sense heritability estimates were low to moderate (11–69%), and thus could still permit effective selection of better genotypes. Yield advantage ranged from 12 to 25% across the 2 years, suggesting effective genetic gains in QPM breeding. QPM hybrids CZH132044Q, CZH142238Q and CZH142236Q were stable and high yielding. Promotion of such QPM hybrids may help reduce protein energy malnutrition.     

Stability of forage yield and quality in pearl millet hybrids heterogenous for rust resistance

Summary The susceptible pearl millet hybrid Tifleaf 1, the resistant hybrid Tifleaf 2, and two experimental 3-way hybrids with different proportions of resistant and susceptible plants were evaluated for rust resistance and forage yield and quality in 1990, 1991, and 1992. Different environmental conditions were obtained by varying planting date, planting density, and fungicide applications across three years of evaluation in the field. Rust severity of forage was negatively correlated with late season green yield, dry matter yield, in vitro dry matter digestibility, and digestible dry matter yield. The stability across environments of the 3-way hybrids was intermediate between resistant Tifleaf 2 and susceptible Tifleaf 1 for rust severity and the yield and quality measurements negatively correlated with rust severity. Mixtures of resistant and susceptible plants would probably provide greater control of rust than measured in these small-plot experiments. Although a mixture of resistant and susceptible plants appears to provide an alternative to monogenic control of rust in forage pearl millets, identification and utilization of additional sources of resistance would be beneficial to improve the performance of 3-way hybrids.     

Recurrent selection for seed quality traits in an opaque-2 maize population

Summary The aim of this research was to evaluate the response to phenotypic recurrent selection for four seed quality traits, i.e. protein content, dye binding capacity, tryptophan content, and specific weight, in a modified opaque-2 population of maize (Zea mays L.). Changes in other agronomic traits were also studied. Four selection cycles, using as selection criterion an index constructed from the four seed quality traits, were completed on an individual plant basis. The material from each cycle and from testerosses of each cycle with a homozygous opaque-2 tester was grown for two consecutive years to evaluate the progress due to selection. The results showed that four cycles of recurrent selection induced sizeable variations among cycles for all selected traits. The rate of progress for the four seed quality traits was nearly linear. Further-more, theldata show that improvement in seed-protein related traits had no negative effects on grain yield and kernel weight, when evaluated as the mean performance of testerosses. There was also no appreciable alteration in the other agronomic traits caused by selection for seed quality traits.     

我国向日葵种业的建立与发展

概述了新中国成立后向日葵种植面积从0.2万hm²发展到现在的100万hm²,从观赏栽培植物发展成为我国四大油料作物之一,向日葵种业从引进国外品种大力推广种植到利用引进种质资源自主选育填补我国向日葵杂交种空白,从进口品种一统天下到国产品种主导市场的逐步发展壮大的历程,并提出了现阶段我国向日葵种业发展需要解决的几个问题,期望推动我国向日葵种业健康发展。     

Cytogenetical analysis of hybrids between sunflower and four wild relatives

Summary The end-use quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is determined in large part by the texture of the grain (soft or hard). Endosperm texture is currently determined by several empirical methods. These methods are limited because the use bulk grain lots, as opposed to individual kernels; assess phenotypic, as opposed to genotypic hardness; require a quantity of grain greater than that generally available in the early generations of wheat breeding programs, and are destructive. Recent approaches that use single kernels address the problems associated with bulk grain lots, but suffer the other limitations of providing only the phenotype and being destructive. An objective method for determining the texture genotype of single kernels of wheat was developed using starch granule-associated friabilin, a family of closely related 15 kDa proteins, as a biochemical marker. The occurrence of friabilin on water-washed wheat starch granules is apparently unaffected by the environment and is perfectly correlated (no exceptions) with grain softness. The technique presented here can detect friabilin on as little as 0.2 mg of starch and provides a 250-fold improvement in friabilin detection compared to previous methods. The method is capable of correctly assessing the genotype of F₁ heterozygotes from hard x soft and soft x hard crosses. Further, the method uses only a portion of the endosperm from the kernel and therefore accommodates embryo propagation and high molecular weight glutenin subunit characterization. This single kernel method also facilitates the genetic characterization of mixed, bulk grain lots.Abbreviations HMW high molecular weight - HRS hard red spring - HRW hard red winter - HWS hard white spring - NIR near infrared reflectance - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - PDA piperazine diacrylamide - PSI particle size index - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate - SKWCS single kernel wheat characterization system - SWS soft white spring - SWW soft white winter - TCA trichloroacetic acid - Tris tris(hydroxymethyl)amino methane     

Genetic diversity in pod and seed quality traits of common bean populations from northwestern Spain

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important food in the northwest of Spain where it is consumed as either green pods or dry seeds after cooking. Quality properties play a major role in cultivar acceptance by processors and consumers. To determine if sufficient variation in important culinary and nutritional traits exists within common bean, fifty-nine populations (plus five commercial cultivars) were grown in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula in three different environments and evaluated for sixteen fresh pod and dry seed quality traits. Populations showed significant differences for pod curvature, length/width and width/thickness ratios of pod and seed, pod and seed texture, volume, hardness, seed coat percentage and water absorption of seed, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, toal sugars and starch content. Genotype × environment interaction was significant for fresh pod traits such as curvature, length/width and width/thickness ratios, and texture, and for dry seed traits such as length/width and width/thickness ratios, volume, hardness and water absorption. Estimates of heritabilities and constancies (genotypic/environmental variance) were higher than 0.5 and 1.0 respectively for pod curvature, length/width and width/thickness ratios of pod and seed, seed volume and seed water absorption. There were high correlations of pod texture with seed length/width and width-thickness ratios, seed coat percentage, seed water absorption, crude fat, total sugars, starch content and crude fiber. Pod texture could be used as an important parameter for evaluating both seed culinary and nutritional quality. In addition, 17 populations showed promise as parental material in a breeding program for pod and seed culinary quality and protein content. The culinary and nutritional quality potential of the accessions such as PHA-0171, PHA-0253 and PHA-0257 which are known as Alubias de riñón could be the base material in a breeding program to obtain accessions with a good seed quality.     

Effects of high oleic acid soybean on seed yield,protein and oil contents,and seed germination revealed by near‐isogeneic lines

Typical soybean oil is composed of palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. High oleic acid content in soybean seed is a key compositional trait that improves oxidative stability and increases oil functionality and shelf life. Using a marker‐assisted selection method, near‐isogenic lines (NILs) of G00‐3213 for the high oleic trait were developed and yield tested. These NILs have various combinations of FAD2‐1A and FAD2‐1B alleles that were derived from the same backcrossing populations. The results indicated that G00‐3213 NILs with both homozygous mutant FAD2‐1A and FAD2‐1B alleles produced an average of 788 g/kg oleic acid content. The results also demonstrated that possessing these mutant alleles did not cause a yield reduction. Furthermore, seed germination tests across 12 temperatures (12.8–32.0°C) showed that modified seed composition for oleic acid in general did not have a major impact on seed germination. However, there was a possible reduction in seed germination vigour when high oleic seeds are planted in cold soil. The mutant FAD2‐1A and FAD2‐1B alleles did not hinder either seed or plant development.     

Silage yield and quality traits in elite maize hybrids and their relationship to elemental concentrations in juvenile plants

European silage maize is cultivated for animal feed and biogas production. We evaluated 210 factorial crosses of elite dent and flint lines in multilocation trials for agronomic and quality traits together with biomass and shoot concentrations of 10 elements in juvenile plants. Significant genotypic variances, mainly due to general combining ability variance of the dent lines, and high heritabilities were observed for dry matter yield (DMY) and quality traits. DMY was not correlated with quality traits, but methane fermentation yield (MFY) and metabolizable energy content (MEC) showed significant correlations with starch and fibre content. Concentrations of elements N,P,S,K were positively correlated with each other but only in few cases correlated with DMY and quality traits. Parent lines with contrasting P concentrations differed in root morphology traits. Results support DMY as primary trait for selection of silage maize hybrids, but MFY is of negligible importance in breeding for biogas contrary to MEC for animal feed. Neither biomass nor elemental composition of juvenile plants were of predictive value for final DMY or quality traits.     

Advanced cycle pedigree breeding in sunflower. I: Genetic variability and testcross hybrid performance for seed yield and other agronomic traits

As a plant breeding programme matures there is a general tendency to recycle elite inbred parents, a strategy known as advanced cycle pedigree breeding. The challenge with this approach is not only to maintain genetic variability in the base breeding populations but also their usefulness for further genetic advancement in developing experimental hybrids with better performance than the commercial hybrids on the market. To assess the genetic variability and usefulness of breeding populations in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), 109 new inbred lines across four breeding populations Pop1, Pop2, Pop3 and Pop4 in advanced cycle pedigree breeding scheme were testcrossed to two testers to form testcross hybrid (TCH) groups: Pop1_TC, Pop2_TC, Pop3_TC and Pop4_TC. Moderate to high genetic variability along with high heritability were obtained for seed yield and oil yield within and across all TCH groups. Heritability for oil content was low to high ranging from 0.36 (Pop2_TC) to 0.81 (Pop1_TC). Genetic advance (GA%) with a 10 % selection intensity ranged from 36 % (Pop2_TC) to 42 % (Pop1_TC) for seed yield; 38 % (Pop3_TC) to 43 % (Pop1_TC) for oil yield; and 1.3 % (Pop2_TC) to 5.1 % (Pop1_TC) for oil content. To quantify the commercial potential of experimental TCHs, founder parent heterosis (FPH), mid-standard heterosis (MSH) and high standard heterosis (HSH) were calculated. Out of a total of 218 experimental TCHs evaluated, 28 had positive FPH, MPH and HSH values for oil yield representing a 13 % selection intensity as is usually applied in early generation testing.