introduction weeds deprive the crop plants from limited available nutrients, space, light, and moisture. hence, the physiological activities and growth of crops are negatively affected in the presence of weeds. ultimately, poor crop productivity is the result of weed-crop competition. allelopathy is primarily based on the ability of certain plant species to produce secondary chemical compounds...

Classical biological control programs often target a pest's region of origin as a likely source for new biological control agents. Here, we use this approach to search for biological control agents of the sunflower stem weevil (Cylindrocopturus adspersus LeConte), an economically important pest of commercial sunflower. We conducted surveys of weevil natural enemy diversity and abundance across ...

Due to a specific structure of its main organs (root, stem, leaves, and head), sunflower can be successfully grown on marginal soils and in semiarid conditions, and it is more resist‐ ant to abiotic stresses, than other field crops. Unfortunately, it is very sensitive to biotic stresses. In sunflower breeding for resistance to abiotic stresses, the greatest progress has been made in selection f...

Conventional karyotypes and various genetic linkage maps have been established in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L., 2n = 34). However, the relationship between linkage groups and individual chromosomes of sunflower remains unknown and has considerable relevance for the sunflower research community. Recently, a set of linkage group-specific bacterial /binary bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC/B...

Capitate glandular trichomes (CGT), one type of glandular trichomes, are most common in Asteraceae species. CGT can produce various secondary metabolites such as sesquiterpene lactones (STLs) and provide durable resistance to insect pests. In sunflower, CGT-based host resistance is effective to combat the specialist pest, sunflower moth. However, the genetic basis of CGT density is not well und...

The primary requirement for a new diploid species to arise via hybridization is ecological divergence from its parental species. Ecological divergence protects the nascent hybrid species from competition with its progenitor species and may contribute to reproductive isolation. However, the means by which hybridization might facilitate the necessary adaptive transitions are poorly understood. He...

IVANOVA, P., V. CHALOVA, L. KOLEVA, I. PISHTIYSKI and M. PERIFANOVA – NEMSKA, 2012. Optimization of protein extraction from sunflower meal produced in Bulgaria. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 18: 153-160 Sunflower meal obtained after defatting of sunflower seeds is a by-product, which has the potential to serve as an attractive source for the preparation of protein isolates for food purposes. Protein ex...

These experiments were conducted to determine metabolizable energy and amino acid digestibilities of soybean meal, sunflower meal and canola meal in broiler chickens by using titanium oxide as indigestible marker in intact or caecectomized cockerels. Ileal and total tract digestibility of amino acids were measured using broiler chickens, moreover, digestibility were also determined in the intac...

Identifying the best inbred combinations for the development of commercial hybrid of sunflower remains the main challenge to sunflower breeders. In the present research the level of heterosis of F1 hybrids, genetic diversity of parental lines based on SSR markers, as well as its connection with specific combining ability of sunflower were studied. Ten sunflower elite inbred lines (3 restorer li...