The Adaptation Assessment of Different Sunflower Cultivars under Kabul Agro Climatic Conditions

Abstract

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is one of the most important oilseeds crops due to its wide adaptability, mechanization potential, low labor requirements, and high oil and protein content. The present study was conducted to evaluate the performance of elite sunflower cultivars under Kabul agro-ecological conditions. The main objective of this research is to identify superior genotypes best adapted to Kabul agro-ecological conditions. Three improved cultivars of sunflowers, two from France (Robiacs and Imeriacs) and a local one were tested for two years, 2018-19, on the farm of Agriculture faculty at Kabul University. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Data were collected on achene's yield and other parameters. Analysis revealed a highly significant difference among cultivars for all parameters under study except the number of days to complete emergence, number of plants m^-2, plant height and leaf area index. Among the cultivars examined, there were significant differences in achene yield. Local cultivar (4696.92kg ha^-1) followed by Robiacs (4346.62 kg ha-¹) yielded significantly higher than Imeriacs cultivar (3029). These cultivars have shown to be the best local and exotic genotypes in terms of achene's yield. With additional tastings, these potential lines could be released for specific environments in Afghanistan similar to the Kabul agro-ecology.