Influence of the content of antioxidants (phenols and flavonoids) in sunflower hybrids and the degree of attack by pests

Nikola Kralev1, Lilyana Koleva1 and RumyanaVasilevska-Ivanova2
1 University of Forestry, Faculty of Agronomy, 10 Kliment Ohridski, 1797, Sofia, Bulgaria
2 Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Acad. G. Bonchev Street, Bldg. 21, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria

Abstract

Kralev, N., Koleva, L. & Vasilevska-Ivanova, R. (2024). Influence of the content of antioxidants (phenols and flavonoids) in sunflower hybrids and the degree of attack by pests. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 30 (Supplement 1), 69–74

The cultivated sunflower is one of the most significant oil-producing crops globally, and its cultivation in Bulgaria, as a primary strategic crop, currently lacks an alternative. One of the factors that can reduce yield and quality in sunflower crops is the presence of pests.
The present study evaluated the relationship between the antioxidant content of interspecific, intergeneric hybrids and one oilseed sunflower variety and their resistance to pests, with a view to including the plant materials in breeding programmes.
The trials were carried out during the 2019–2021, at the experimental field of the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics – BAS, Lozen village near Sofia. The plant material tested included interspecific and intergeneric hybrid sunflower lines, as well as one cultivated sunflower variety NA 1114. The content of antioxidants (phenols and flavonoids) in the plant materials wear quantified by spectrophotometric methods. Entomological studies were evaluated under field conditions by observing and assessing the natural attack of the experimental plant material by existing local populations of sunflower pests.
The species composition of the pests and the indifferent fauna of the tested sunflower lines and variety was determined. The data suggest that the differences in the degree of pest attack were due to antioxidant potential. The findings indicate that the sunflower variety HA 1114, the result of distant interspecific hybridization, displays an acceptable level of genetic resistance to pests.

Keywords: sunflower; hybrids; variety; antioxidants; pests

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