Can Modification of Sowing Date and Genotype Selection Reduce the Impact of Climate Change on Sunflower Seed Production?

Miloš Krstić, Velimir Mladenov, Borislav Banjac, Brankica Babec, Dušan Dunđerski, Nemanja Ćuk, Sonja Gvozdenac, Sandra Cvejić, Siniša Jocić, Vladimir Miklič and Jelena Ovuka ()
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Miloš Krstić: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Velimir Mladenov: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Borislav Banjac: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 8, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Brankica Babec: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Dušan Dunđerski: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Nemanja Ćuk: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Sonja Gvozdenac: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Sandra Cvejić: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Siniša Jocić: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Vladimir Miklič: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
Jelena Ovuka: Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Climate change projections for the 21st century pose great threats to semi-arid regions, impacting seed production and the quality of sunflowers. Crop yields are negatively affected by climate variability, especially in the event of droughts during the crucial growth stages. Understanding the relationships between agrometeorological, genetic, and agronomic factors is crucial for maintaining crop sustainability. Optimal sowing dates are an essential condition for maximizing crop genetic potential, but challenges come from annual weather variations. This study analyzes how sunflower genotypes respond to different sowing dates under climate change and focuses on the conditions for obtaining maximum seed yields and favorable agronomic traits. From 2020 to 2022, the experiment featured six genotypes sown across four different dates at two-week intervals, simulating seed sunflower production. The results obtained by ANOVA indicated that the seed yield and oil yield were significantly affected by the sowing date, the genotype, and their interaction, with coefficients of variation ranging from 7.6% for oil yield to 41.1% for seed yield. Besides seed yield and oil yield, LDA biplot and Discriminant Functions confirmed that seed germination energy also played a significant role in separating genotypes into clusters. A Visual Mixed Model showed that shifting the optimal sowing date (mid-April) to early May allows a reduction in the number of days the plants spend in critical growth stages, thereby escaping stressful conditions during pollination and seed filling. The findings resulted, on average, in increased yields and improved seed quality, which are the primary goals of seed production, but not in increased 1000-seed weight. Notably, high temperatures during the critical sunflower growth stages negatively affected the measured parameters of seed production. The increased precipitation during seed filling boosted the 1000-seed mass and seed yield. Extended flowering reduced the growth rate and seed germination, but longer seed filling increased the 1000-seed mass and seed yield. Our future breeding goals will be to create genotypes with a shorter flowering period and an extended seed-filling period to better respond to climate change.

Keywords: climate change; sunflower; inbred line; seed production; sowing date; germination; seed yield; 1000-seed mass (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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