SDSU Plant Science Minor Oilseeds Research

South Dakota State University

college of agriculture & biological sciences

Minor Oilseeds Research

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Last updated 3 November 2009

The sunflower and minor oilseeds breeding program is one of six breeding programs in the Plant Science Department. The breeding/genetics programs also collaborate with pest management groups to select for host plant resistance. The primary goal of the breeding programs is to release cultivars or germplasm in several different crops. The sunflower breeding effort has released 12 germplasm lines or improved populations:

· 2006 – SDR21, SDR22, and SDR23, three oilseed sunflower fertility-restorer germplasm lines.

· 2007 – SDR24, SDR25, SDR26, SDR27, SDR28, SDR29, and SDR30, seven oilseed sunflower fertility-restorer germplasm lines.

· 2007 – SDB4 and cms SDB4, an oilseed sunflower maintainer line and its male sterile counterpart.

Active Research

· Improving yield and oil content in sunflower germplasm under South Dakota growing conditions.

· Improving oil quality in sunflower.

· Incorporation of disease and herbicide resistance into sunflower germplasm.

· Incorporation of drought tolerance into sunflower germplasm

· Red sunflower seed weevil host plant resistance.

· Improved production practices for sunflower in South Dakota (planting dates, plant population, harvest dates).

· Evaluation of commercial sunflower hybrids, and flax and camelina varieties in South Dakota environments.

· Evaluation of potential new oilseed crops.

Research Objectives

· Make appropriate crosses to develop segregating populations that contain resistance genes for multiple sunflower pests.

· Test sunflower lines/populations for pest resistance in the greenhouse and/or field.

· Evaluate sunflower lines for oil content using NMR analyzer and for oil quality using GC-mass spectrometer in the laboratory.

· Develop sunflower populations required for collaborative development of QTL markers for marker-assisted selection.

· Develop calibrations for additional oilseed crops for the recently purchased NMR seed analyzer.

· Evaluate the effects of late planting on sunflower yield and oil content.

· Assess commercial sunflower and flax variety performance in South Dakota.

· Evaluate potential new oilseed crops, including winter canola and camelina.

Plans for 2009

· The F₂ populations produced in 2008 will be evaluated for drought/salinity tolerance and other desired traits and superior individuals selected for advancement to F₃. Grant funds from the 2010 Drought Center will be used to identify molecular markers associated with drought resistance in sunflower to assist with future selection efforts.

· Separate restorer (male parent of a sunflower hybrid) and B-line (female parent) populations were developed in 2007-2008. In 2009, standard recurrent selection breeding procedures will be initiated on these populations. Recurrent selection is a breeding method that is designed to increase the frequency of desired alleles for quantitatively-inherited traits (like yield or drought tolerance) by repeated cycles of selection. Selection will be for yield, drought tolerance, disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, and high oleic acid.

· A backcross program that was initiated in 2007 to transfer relatively simply-inherited traits (like rust resistance, high oleic acid, or herbicide tolerance) into superior lines already present in the breeding program will be continued. Backcross breeding is a method by which the genes for a desired character are transferred to an adapted and productive line or cultivar that lacks the desired trait. Initial crosses were made in 2007 and the first backcross was completed in 2008. In 2009 hybrid plants containing the desired alleles will be selected and crossed back to the adapted parent.

· The sunflower hybrid performance trials will be continued, with test locations near Onida, Eureka, Reliance, Miller, and Bison.

· The on-farm sunflower planting date trial will be continued. The results will be summarized over 3 years and presented to the Risk Management Agency.

· The screening of genetic material for resistance to the red sunflower seed weevil will be continued and expanded to include a yield trial of material that has been developed from the resistant accessions identified in previous years of screening.

· Participate in the sunflower moth monitoring network and the fall sunflower yield and pest survey.

· If the proposal submitted to USDA AFRI is funded, we will begin to develop isogenic sunflower lines containing different numbers of genes for sunflower rust resistance.

· Continue cooperation with the Extension entomology and pathology programs to screen pesticides for control of sunflower insect and disease pests.

Minor Oilseed Research