Sunflower cultivation became more difficult as climate change influenced temperature and precipitation distribution all over the world. Romania is one of the most important countries in Europe for the cultivation of this crop. Therefore, it became one of the most important centers for testing sunflower hybrids. In this study, we evaluated 12 newly developed sunflower hybrids along with 3 commercial hybrids as references to identify material adapted to current Romanian growing conditions. The experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research and Development Station Lovrin during two consecutive growing seasons (2024–2025). During the study we analyzed yield, flowering time, physiological maturity, seed oil content, oleic acid content, linoleic acid content, and plant height. Correlation analysis demonstrates strong positive associations between yield and oil content (r = 0.75). Additionally, oil yield and maturity exhibit a positive correlation (r = 0.69). According to the results, cluster analysis had identified Hib13, Hib14, Hib15, Hib11, and Hib10 as superior high-oleic hybrids with favorable adaptation and performance under Romanian conditions. Other research reports confirm these findings. However, further multi-environment testing is required to confirm the stability and adaptability in Romania of the selected hybrids, as the environment was determining factor of traits evaluated (p < 0.05).

sunflower breeding; yield; oil content; correlation analysis; hybrid adaptation

agronomy

Presentation: poster