Agronomic characteristics and oil content of Brazilian sunflower hybrdids under different sowing densities

Abstract

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) has good productive capacity and the increase in production is possible by using hybrids adapted to the sowing region and an adequate arrangement of plants without losing quality and oil content. The objective of this work was to evaluate two sunflower hybrids cultivated in different sowing densities, observing the influence on the agronomic characteristics and oil content of the cultivation. The experiment was conducted at the experimental field of the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Toledo. The experimental design was randomized blocks in 2 × 4 factorial scheme, with four repetitions consisted of two plant genotypes (BRS324 and M734) and four plant densities (30, 40, 50 and 60 thousand ha-1 plants). The variables analyzed in the field were: plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, chapter thickness and chapter size. On the other hand, the variables: mass of one thousand sunflower achene, yield and oil content were analyzed at PUCPR laboratory. According to the results obtained, there was interaction between the density of the BRS324 genotype with plant height, stem diameter and mass of a thousand sunflower achene. For the other variables there was a significant difference as a function of the genotype. The cultivar BRS324 produced a better oil content. For plant height and stem diameter, the cultivar showed opposite behavior, possibly due to adaptation in the western region of Paraná. The variable mass of one thousand sunflower achene was decreased due to the increase of the population density for cultivar BRS324.