Inheritance of stigma colour and branching habit in sunflower accession from North West Himalayas

Abstract

Primitive forms of crop species occurring or maintained in remote human settlements as ornamentals or for noncommercial purposes often possess traits that either are perse desirable or supportive as linked markers for other desirable trait(s). Recessive branching, for example, is essentially desired in sunflower restorer lines and pigmentation is reported to be linked to fertility [1]. The expression and inheritance of these traits in the primitive forms is quite often not the same as exhibited by their domesticated counterparts. Understanding these patterns, therefore, becomes imperative to formulate breeding strategies for their transfer to domesticated forms.