Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an important oilseed crop in Pakistan. In the present study, plant material comprised of 8 cytoplasmic male sterile lines and 3 restorers was used to develop F1 hybrids through line×tester mating design. The experiment was conducted in the research area of University College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha during 2014 by using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in triplicate. Genetic variability, general combining ability and specific combining ability were determined. The lines B-2, B-6 and B-21 expressed highly significant GCA for days to flowering, head diameter, plant height, internodal distance, stem girth, 100-achene weight and achene weight per head. Among testers, R-12 expressed highly significant GCA for days to flowering, plant height, head diameter, internodal distance, stem girth, number of leaves per plant, number of seeds per head, 100-achene weight and achene weight per head. The cross CMS-21×R-18 revealed high SCA for days to flowering, plant height, stem girth, achene yield per plant, number of seeds per head and oil contents. Achene yield and oil contents showed significantly positive association with days to flowering, head diameter and head shape. The cross CMS-2×R-12 exhibited significantly high heterosis for achene weight per head. The results of analysis of variance were determined among enteries for all the traits at significance level (p ≥ 0.01).
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