One necessary precondition for achieving stable and high grain and oil yields of sunflower for a certain agroecological area is the right choice of hybrids, but also the determination of the optimal plant density (number of plants per unit area) for these hybrids. Therefore, in order to determine the influence of plant density and hybrid on grain yield, oil content and oil yield of sunflower, an experiment was conducted with three plant densities (57000, 65000 and 75000 plants ha-1) and 24 sunflower hybrids at the Osijek locality. The hybrid had the largest influence on the phenotypic expression of the mentioned traits, while the plant density and the plant density x hybrid interaction had a much smaller influence. On average, the highest grain yield, oil content and oil yield were achieved in the highest plant density. Hybrid H-16 had the highest grain yield (6.712 t ha-1), hybrid H-11 had the highest oil content (54.89%), and hybrid H-13 had the highest oil yield (3.144 t ha-1). High grain yield, oil content and oil yield of experimental sunflower hybrids indicate improvement in the breeding process at the Agricultural Institute Osijek. These hybrids can be considered as promising material in further research for the purpose of applying for recognition and commercial production.

sunflower, plant density, hybrid, grain yield, oil content, oil yield

Published by University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagreb, CROATIA
Sponsored by Ministry Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia