Future Prospects - Genetics, Genomics and Breeding of Crop Plants - page 319

10.1 The Past
If we look back to the past to foretell the future of cultivated sunflower
( Helianthus annuus L.), we can predict that a series of incremental, subtle
improvements will occur, punctuated by periodic notable technological
advances. The history of sunflower advancement as an important oilseed
crop has followed this pattern as sunflower evolved into one of the leading
oilseed crops worldwide. The domestication of wild Helianthus annuus by
Native Americans, probably in east-central North America over 4,300 years
ago (Harter et al. 2004), can be considered as the first major technological
advance of sunflower as an agricultural crop. In contrast to multibranched
wild sunflower with many small heads containing small, easily-shattered
seeds, domesticated sunflower was characterized by an unbranched stem
with a single, large head holding relatively large achenes that were retained
until harvest.
Following its introduction in western Europe in the 16th century by
early New World explorers, the domesticated sunflower spread eastward
as it became increasingly popular as a garden ornamental. When sunflower
reached Russia, its value as a good source of cooking oil was recognized. By
the 1850s many sunflower crushing mills were in operation in central
European Russia. The oil content of sunflower seed at the time was about
25%, but starting in the 1920s Russian sunflower breeders were successful
in another significant technological advance: increasing the oil content to
over 40%. The most successful of these research programs was led by V. S.
Pustovoit at Krasnodar near the Black Sea. By 1965, Pustovoit was testing
open-pollinated lines with more than 50% oil while maintaining or
increasing total yield (Heiser 1976).
A third important advance came with the discovery of cytoplasmic male
sterility in sunflower by Leclercq (1969) in France and the corresponding
fertility restorer gene by Kinman (1970) in the US. Together, these two
discoveries made it possible to produce hybrid sunflower that resulted in
enhanced yield. By the year 2007, oilseed sunflower production in Argentina,
Ukraine, Europe, US, India, and Turkey was almost exclusively from hybrid
sunflower (Bjerke, Mulpuri, Kaya, pers. comm.). In Russia, about 60% of
total sunflower cultivation was still with open-pollinated cultivars in 2007.
However, regional differences in production practices are evident in Russia,
with the sunflower growing regions around Krasnodar, Stavropol, and
Rostov, utilizing hybrid oilseed sunflower for about 70% of production
( Bochkaryov, pers. comm.). Almost all oilseed-type sunflower production
in China has been converted to hybrids. However, China still adheres to
open-pollinated cultivars for about 85% of its confectionery sunflower, which
accounts for more than 60% of total sunflower production (Liu, pers. comm.).