Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
The achene was originally used directly as food and crudely extracted
oil. Native Americans had selected tall, single-headed landraces by the time
European explorers reached North America in the 16th century. While
sunflower was not a staple of the Native American's diet as were maize,
beans, and squash, it was nonetheless cultivated by many tribes from eastern
North America throughout the Midwest and as far south as northern Mexico
(Putt 1997). The Native Americans also used sunflower hulls as a source of
dye, leaves for herbal medicine, and pollen in religious ceremonies.
The domesticated sunflower of North America was introduced to
Europe in the early 16th century, perhaps initially by a Spanish expedition
in 1510, and later by English and French explorers (Putt 1997). The first
published description of sunflower appeared in 1568. Sunflower quickly
spread throughout Europe where it was initially cultivated as an ornamental
plant or as a novelty. Although it spread rapidly throughout Europe, the
sunflower did not have a spectacular success as a crop until it reached
Russia, where it was probably introduced by Peter the Great after a trip to
western Europe in 1697. Only upon the introduction of the domesticated
sunflower was its potential as an oilseed crop recognized. In Russia, the
sunflower was quickly adopted as a source of oil, largely because of religious
laws that prohibit the consumption of foods rich in oil during the days
preceding Christmas and during the season of Lent preceding Easter.
Because of its recent introduction, it was not on the list of forbidden foods
and could be consumed without infringement of religious laws. By the early
1700s sunflower achenes were eaten as a snack, and in 1716, the first patent
for the use of sunflower oil (for industrial uses) was filed in England (Putt
1997). By the 1850s, dozens of sunflower crushing mills were operating in
central Europe. However, the oil content of the sunflower achenes was only
250 g/kg. Active selection for high achene oil content began in the 1860s
(Heiser 1976). Sunflower historians generally concur that the present
cultivated sunflower in North America comes from breeding material with
high oil content developed by V.S. Pustovoit, located at the All-Union
Research Institute for Oil Crops (VNIIMK), Krasnodar, USSR starting in the
1920s through the mid-1960s.
Most references indicate the latter part of the 19th century was the date
for the introduction of sunflower as a non-oilseed crop. By 1880, the
“Mammoth Russian” cultivar was available from seed companies in the
USA (Beard 1981). Another highly likely route of reintroduction of sunflower
from the FSU to North America was via immigrants bringing small quantities
of achenes with them. Mennonites from the FSU who immigrated to Canada
about 1875 brought sunflower achenes with them for roasting and eating
whole (Putt 1997).
Early cultivation of sunflower was primarily for livestock silage and
seed for poultry. By the second half of the 20th century, improved Russian
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