The nutritional needs of bees are receiving renewed attention in the context of declining bee populations and changes in land use that threaten floral resources. We present a comprehensive analysis of the nutritional composition of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) pollen, comparing hand-collected, bee-collected and stored pollen. As found in previous studies, the protein content of sunflower polle...

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) growers in North Dakota and South Dakota harvested 593,522 ha in 2012, valued at $US600 million. Blackbirds, numbering about 75 million, annually damage 2 to 3% of the crop. Damage tends to be clumped around cattail (Typha spp.) dominated wetlands with standing water. In an attempt to reduce sunflower damage, three general population management strategies have been...

This study investigated the effects of foliar application of normal and nanoparticles of zinc oxide (ZnO) on the growth, proline content, and some antioxidant enzyme activities of sunflower cultivars at different salinity levels. Treatments included five cultivars (Helianthus annuus L. cvs. Alstar, Olsion, Yourflor, Hysun36, and Hysun33), two salinity levels (0 and 100 mM NaCl), and three folia...

Influx and efflux of water and urea and electrolyte leakage are less for sunflower (Helianthus annuus) hypocotyl sections above lesions caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum than for those from healthy plants. Urea uptake by sections above lesions is reduced (celery, squash, and tomato) or unchanged (bean) in other hosts after Sclerotinia infection. Efflux of urea from sunflower hypocotyls is biph...

Dectes texanus LeConte (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) has become a serious pest of two different crops in the American Midwest, sunflower, Helianthus annuus L. and soybean, Glycines max (L.). Laboratory and field studies were used to compare the effects of these two host plants on D. texanus life history and behavior. Insects from soybean were 40-60% smaller than those from sunflower and larval wei...

Proline concentration has been often suggested as an indicator of osmotic stress. A better understanding of the genetics of this trait is however needed. In the present study, proline concentration has been assessed, together with root and stem growth, potassium, calcium and total soluble sugars concentration and stress injury symptoms, in seedlings of sunflower hybrids and their parents grown ...

Helianthus annuus, the common sunflower, produces a complex array of secondary compounds that are secreted into glandular trichomes, specialized structures found on leaf surfaces and anther appendages of flowers. The primary components of these trichome secretions are sesquiterpene lactones (STL), a diverse class of compounds produced abundantly by the plant family Compositae and believed to co...

The NMR solution structures at different levels of refinement of three different 2 S albumin seed proteins, the recombinant pronapin precursor from Brassica napus, the recombinant RicC3 from Ricinus communis and the methionine-rich protein from sunflower ( Helianthus annuus ), are described. The resulting common structure consists of a bundle of five alpha-helices, folded in a right-handed supe...