Variability of morphological traits in sunflower inbred lines

Except agronomic important traits, great diversity in sunflower is present in morphological traits which are very useful in breeding studies. The main objective of the paper was to determine genetic diversity among the 110 inbred lines in the collection of Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops Novi Sad (IFVCNS) by screening 34 morphological traits according to a list of descriptors of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) as to conduct the Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability Test (DUS). The diversity of morphological traits was estimated by Shannon diversity index (H?) and the diversity of sunflower inbred lines was performed by homogeneity analysis (HOMALS) as well as discriminatory power of the traits. The values of the traits in Shannon diversity index were the highest (H?=0.99) for height of the tip of the blade compared to insertion of petiole and bract position, while branching, head shape and seed color showed low diversity (H?>0.1). The uniformity of inbred lines distribution determined discriminative power of descriptors. Disk flower anthocyanin coloration of stigma, hypocotyl anthocyanin coloration and intensity, leaf blistering, leaf serration, seed stripes on and between the margins showed the strongest discriminatory power. According to these six traits, the collection of inbred lines was divided into two main groups and three subgroups which better explained the relationships among the various inbred lines. Inbred lines showed the great variability of morphological traits in the whole collection and also among the inbred lines from the same type of use.