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With climate change significantly affecting crop production, a need for introduction of innovative methods and tools into breeding programs emerged. Furthermore, breeding for abiotic stress resistance, especially drought tolerance, is complex and it requires taking a comprehensive approach and combination of classic and modern tools. The Center of Excellence for Innovations in Breeding of Climate-Resilient Crops – Climate Crops gathers researchers from different backgrounds with the same aim of creating climate-resilient crops. Since the establishment of the Center, multi-omics approach has been used, with focus on epigenetics, an emerging field in genetics, to help us identify mechanisms of fast crop adaptation to stress. Moreover, the cutting-edge phenotyping and sensing tools for the identification of traits associated with stress tolerance and early identification of stress resilience have been introduced into crop selection processes. This in combination with mutation breeding and genome editing, complimenting classical breeding is expected to pave the way for a new era in breeding and creating innovative solutions for 21st century crop breeding and cultivation.

Providing new solutions for accelerating climate-smart crops creation has become a number one task in breeding. A project funded by the European Commission under the agreement No. 101059784 “Stepping up scientific excellence and innovation capacity for climate-resilient crop improvement and production” CROPINNO is tackling with this problem. Within the framework of this project, Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia (IFVCNS) is teaming up with reputable European research institutions and Universities for the introduction of new tools in IFVCNS breeding programs. On genetic level, we are exploiting state-of-the-art platforms for analysing sunflower epigenome, namely histone methylation and activities of non-coding RNAs to quest for important epiQTLs that would improve sunflowers quick response to abiotic stress. Moreover, we are introducing new phenotyping tools such as root phenotyping to identify root traits related to abiotic stress response. By combing latest molecular and phenotypic tools we will be able to accelerate creation of climate-resilient sunflower and be ready for what future environmental change brings us.

Oplemenjivanje suncokreta je kontinuirani proces dizajniran da poveća nivo prinosa i poboljša otpornost na biotičke i abiotičke stresove. Oplemenjivači su bili uspešni u proizvodnji velikog broja sorti koristeći konvencionalne metode oplemenjivanja koje se razlikuju u zavisnosti od vrste. Pojava novih tehnika, kao što je genomska selekcija i izmena genoma, zajedno sa efikasnim platformama za fenotipizaciju, utrle su put efikasnijem unošenju poželjnih osobina. Novi pristupi u genotipizaciji i fenotipizaciji omogućili su efikasnije prikupljanje podataka za identifikaciju kvantitativnih svojstava i objašnjenje genetske osnove agronomski važnih osobina. Stvaranje genotipova suncokreta otpornih na promene klime može doprineti ublažavanju negativnog uticaja koje poljoprivredna proizvodnja ima na životnu sredinu, poput intenzivnog iskorišćavanja voda i emisije gasova staklene bašte, dok s druge strane obezbeđuje resurse za stabilnu poljoprivrednu proizvodnju. U radu je dat pregled novih pristupa i koraka u oplemenjivanju suncokreta i stvaranju genotipova tolerantnih na promene klime, uz osvrt na aktivnosti u Institutu za ratarstvo i povrtarstvo vezane za njihovu primenu u NS oplemenjivačkom programu., Sunflower breeding is a continuous process designed to increase yield levels and improve resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Breeders have been successful in producing a large number of varieties using conventional breeding methods that vary by species. The emergence of new techniques, such as genomic selection and genome editing, together with efficient phenotyping platforms, have paved the way for more efficient introduction of desirable traits. New approaches in genotyping and phenotyping have enabled more efficient data collection to identify quantitative traits and explain the genetic basis of agronomically important traits. The creation of sunflower genotypes resistant to climate change can contribute to mitigating the negative impact that agricultural production has on the environment, such as intensive water depletion and greenhouse gas emissions, while on the other hand providing resources for stable agricultural production. The paper provides an overview of new approaches and steps in sunflower breeding and the creation of genotypes tolerant to climate changes, with a review of the activities at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops related to their application in the NS breeding program.

In the future, it is expected that integrative approaches that combine -omics technologies by using bioinformatic tools will facilitate the identification of target genes and markers for complex traits and crop adaptation to the changing environment. CROPINNO project aims to implement multi-omics tools, with emphasis on epigenomics, for increased climate resilience of sunflower, chosen model crop for the project. In order to determine epigenetic variations in sunflower drought response, effects of drought and plant recovery are analysed at chromatin and transcriptional level. Preliminary drought stress protocols that mimic field progressive stress condition were developed with the aim to characterize sunflower response to the environmental challenges at molecular level using -omics tools, such as RNA-Seq and ChIP-Seq, as well as histone modifications such as H3K4me H3K27me3. Stress experiments are performed to identify both candidate genes and their chromatin state, associated with a variable molecular response among the characterized lines and the molecular signature, in the form of a list of regulatory pathways affected.

Changes are inevitable! Changes in climate must be accompanied by changing strategies in breeding. Now more than ever breeders need to anticipate and accelerate sunflower breeding toward creating hybrids that can withstand current and future environmental changes in order to meet oil crop demand. At the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, we are exploiting one of the greatest collection detection and introduction of desirable traits. Within the project “Creating climate smart sunflower for future challenges” (SMARTSUN), grant number 7732457 funded by Science Fund of Republic of Serbia through IDEAS call, we have identified root traits associated with drought tolerance aiming to introduce them in our commercial breeding material. Root as a primary organ for water uptake has been heavily neglected in sunflower breeding programs, thus this research enabled its expansion. Future studies will include the identification of drought-resistant epiQTLs and epigenetic-targeted resistance genes and the creation of markers for their detection in marker-assisted selection.

Macrophomina phaseolina is increasingly threatening sunflower yields in Europe, intensified by climate change. In this study, 12 inbred sunflower lines were tested under two infection conditions: the aggressive toothpick method, with tissue penetration, and the less invasive Unfounded Stem Base Inoculation method (USBI), without penetration. Three parameters were measured: the height of stem sections covered with microsclerotia, seed yield, and the 1000-seed mass. The results revealed distinct differences among the inbred lines regardless of the parameter measured or the infection method used. The toothpick method categorized genotypes into two groups based on seed yield, six groups based on the1000-seed mass, and five groups based on the height of stem sections covered with microsclerotia. Conversely, the USBI method grouped the genotypes into four groups by seed yield, two groups by the 1000-seed mass, and four groups by the height of stem sections covered with microsclerotia. The study found that the toothpick method highlighted greater differences in seed quality, specifically the 1000-seed mass, whereas the USBI method better differentiated the genotypes based on seed yield. This suggests that while both methods are effective in evaluating the impact of Macrophomina phaseolina, they may be suited for different aspects of genotype assessment in sunflower breeding programs aimed at improving resistance to charcoal rot.

Genomics-assisted breeding is a revolutionary approach to crop improvement, using advanced genomic tools and technologies to accelerate and improve the efficacy of breeding programs. Combining novel methodologies and applications of genomics with traditional breeding for crop improvement aims to address global agricultural and food security challenges. In this way, breeders can identify and select desirable traits more effectively, accelerating the development of high-yielding, disease-resistant, climate-resilient, adaptive and stable crop varieties. Technological advancement in the area of genomics and the development of genomic resources have made genomics-assisted breeding a cost-effective and time-saving method. The use of high throughput sequencing technologies, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genomic selection (GS) and genome editing (GE) enables the identification of genetic markers linked to agronomically important traits, facilitating marker-assisted selection (MAS), enabling breeders to predict the performance of breeding lines more accurately and offering the capacity to enhance breeding efficiency. Case studies will illustrate the practical applications of genomics-assisted breeding in cereal, legume, and oilseed species at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops (Novi Sad, Serbia), demonstrating benefits such as improved yield and increased resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. Moreover, the challenges and future directions in this field, including the need for more extensive genomic resources, the integration of multi-omics data and speed breeding, and ethical considerations will be addressed.

Drought conditions can be significant constraint is sunflower cropping. Determination of variability in sunflower drought response is necessary step in breeding effort to select tolerant genotypes. Experiments were conducted to compare two approaches aiming to isolate drought stress from other sources of stress, control water availability to plants and to determine impact of drought on plant growth. Two inbred lines, HA-26-PR and IMI-AB-14, were selected based on their response to drought. In the first experiment plants were grown for period of 14 days in rhizotrons and in the second for period of 60 days in pots. Both experiments were placed in growth chamber. Drought conditions in rhizotron experiment were on constant level compared to pot experiment where plants were gradually exposed to drought at one stage of development. Plants were phenotyped during and at the end of rhizotron experiment and only at the end of pot experiment. Growing plant in rhizotrons gave insight in root morphology and growth, but for the limited duration of time and only for early stages of sunflower growth. Pot experiment enables one to monitor plant growth and development over longer time and to impose drought at selected moment making it closer to the drought scenarios in field conditions. Both methods are reliable for drought stress induction and determination of drought impact and can be considered as complementary. Further research will aim the comparison of methods in controlled conditions with field drought experiments.

In recent years, overcoming the negative impact of climate change on the oil crops productivity and creating tolerant genotypes have become one of the strategic goals in agriculture. Climate change has different effects in different agroecological conditions, which requires the creation of different genotypes, adapted to the specific environmental conditions and tolerant to the predominant stresses still having appropriate adaptability and stability. Sunflower breeders are thus using all available resources and tools to increase genetic variability, and mine for desirable traits and genes for creating productive genotypes in stressful conditions. At the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, we are currently combining different –omics approaches for extensive characterization of our breeding material for abiotic stress resilience. By exploiting transcriptomics, we will be able to identify desirable tolerance genes, while phenomics will help get more insight into genotype-environment interactions which is essential in crop breeding. Combining different approaches will facilitate tailored breeding for a particular environment and help create new generation sunflower hybrids ready to face new challenges

Evaluating the qualities of sunflower hybrids is partially based on laboratory analysis which is amenable to strict quantification and statistical and computer analysis. However, the insignificant amount of information is not gleaned from direct visual observation which is partially qualitative and where it is quantitative, it is laborious and prone to human error. To remedy this state of affairs, we have begun work on an automated, AI-powered analysis workflow for visual confectionary sunflower seed evaluation. We foresee that these advances can be used both to increase efficiency of dehulling via model machine and helping to generate novel varieties with novel seed shapes. This advancement should be possible by combining automated shape analysis, genomic analysis, and the development of generative AI models which create plausible simulations of seed geometry under known genetic and environmental conditions. In this paper we address the first step of 3D shape analysis: 3D shape acquisition. Traditional 3D shape acquisition techniques require relatively expensive equipment, consisting of multiple carefully calibrated cameras. To reduce cost and guarantee the potential for ubiquity of this approach, we propose an alternative approach based on cheap image acquisition technology and AI-powered 3D geometry reconstruction.

This study aims to optimize non-edible crops for cultivation on marginal lands. Modern biotechnology tools are combined with tailored agronomic practices to achieve this goal, focusing on low inputs and efficient water use. To increase resource use efficiency, the following activities are designed: a) identifying optimized, resource-efficient varieties for marginal lands, b) developing modern biotechnology tools for industrial crops, and c) implementing tailored agronomic practices. Advanced breeding material for specific non-edible industrial crops has been developed in breeding programs through EU research projects (GRACE, MAGIC, OPTIMISC, MultiHemp, SUNLIBB, and FIBRA) and national/multinational projects. Several advanced high yielding genotypes with increased tolerance to different abiotic factors have been evaluated in order to be registered as new varieties/hybrids suitable for marginal lands with low inputs (water / fertilizers). The following crops: hemp, miscanthus, crambe, and castor bean were grown on multi location trials in Greece, Italy, Spain, and Serbia as part of MIDAS project. Optimal agricultural practices (improved varieties/hybrids, different irrigation and fertilization rates, and/or plant densities) were applied in order to evaluate the phenology, biometric and agronomic performances, as well as yield quantity and quality. Advanced breeding tools, including marker assisted selection – MAS, genome editing, and speed breeding, were used to further develop elite material. These advanced tools help produce improved varieties and hybrids to meet the future needs of agricultural production.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is one of the most widely cultivated oilseed crop globally, providing oil for cooking, food products, and industrial applications, as well as contributing to agricultural diversification and economic development in many regions. In addition to numerous biotic factors that create problems in growing sunflower, record temperatures and unfavorable distribution of precipitation present increasingly challenging conditions for successful production. Sunflower breeding for both, abiotic (non-living environmental factors) and biotic (living organism- related), limiting factors involves a combination of traditional breeding methods and modern biotechnological approaches. It is a dynamic and multidisciplinary process that requires ongoing research and adaptation to evolving agricultural and environmental conditions. Abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, extreme temperatures, as well as biotic stresses like pests and diseases, are common challenges for sunflower cultivation. Innovative research on sunflower, such as the SmartSun project, is implementing modern technologies for precise phenotyping, along with genotypic and epigenetic research, in order to examine the mechanisms of sunflower adaptation to extreme abiotic factors, primarily drought, which are increasingly frequent phenomenon. By using a platform for automatic analysis of the architecture of the root system for plants grown in rhizotrons, the morphology and anatomy of the roots is being analyzed. Data obtained by root phenotyping and gene expression analysis will be used for epigenetic analysis - sRNA and lncRNA. Using mathematical and statistical processing of data obtained from analyses will provide insight into a consolidated response to drought tolerance that can be used in breeding.

One of the most important tasks when planning research is the correct selection of materials for experiments, especially if the same material will be tested over the years. During processing, natural seeds are uniform in size and weight and separated into fractions. Even though the seed is of the same origin and from the same locality, there are differences in the quality parameters between the fractions. The seeds of four sunflower genotypes were divided into larger and smaller fractions, and within them into heavier and lighter fractions. On average, the differences in 1000-seed mass between all tested fractions were significant. The hull content ranged from 21.2% in Sumo 2 Or to 25.85% in the Sumo 1 Pr and was on average significantly higher in the large seed fractions. The exception was the Sumo 3 genotype, where the lighter fractions had a significantly higher hull content. The oil content was significantly higher in the lighter seed fractions (42.45% and 42.22%), while in the protein content all differences were significant. On average, the largest protein content was in the fraction of large and heavier seeds (22.52%), while the smallest was in smaller and heavier seeds (20.82%). Germination, as the most important parameter of seed viability, was higher in smaller seed fractions, and there were significant differences between smaller and lighter seeds compared to large seed fractions (3.82% and 2.44%). The results indicate that with these four genotypes, lighter and smaller seeds are more suitable for research, which is contrary to common practice.

Drought stress significantly threatens crop productivity worldwide, requiring a comprehensive understanding of plant adaptations to alleviate its adverse effects. Sunflower, as an important source of edible oil, is greatly affected by drought in different developmental stages. This review investigates the morphological aspects and phenological adaptations of sunflower under drought conditions. Through a detailed description of morphological and phenological changes in sunflower, induced by drought, we aim to unravel the plant’s strategies for coping with water scarcity. In addition, the study describes genetic background of drought tolerance in sunflower, as well as insight about valuable genetic resources. Finally, we have described drought mitigation mechanisms known in sunflower, through morpho-physiological adaptations and agricultural practices which can alleviate the effect of drought. As a future strategy this research emphasizes the importance of genetic diversity in cultivating drought-resilient sunflower, using modern breeding techniques through genomic selection and omic’s technologies as a promising strategy in the face of escalating water limitations and development of drought tolerant and tenacious sunflower.

Broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) is a major threat to sunflower production worldwide, with significant presence primarily in northern Serbia. Since the mid-1990s, race E of broomrape has been dominant, but recent results in virulence determination indicate an increase in virulence in several locations in Serbia. The aim of the study was to understand the sunflower broomrape virulence in Serbia by selecting the most virulent populations study diversity among races. Genetic structure analysis was compared with populations from the Black Sea region, heavily affected by the parasite. The analysis revealed two gene pools: first populations from north Batka, mainly F race and linked to a Hungarian population and second with populations from the south Banat region, dominant virulence G and similar to a Russian population.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is the fourth most important oil crop worldwide grown in almost all continents. Ever since climate change started causing significant seed and oil yield in sunflower, breeders widened their breeding programs into breeding for abiotic stress resistance. Designing climate-smart sunflower will help maintain and desirably increase existing seed and oil yields and also enable a more stable oil source for the already shaken oil market. Drought is one of the most important abiotic stress interfering with crop growth and development. Sunflower is especially sensitive to drought at germination, anthesis and achene-filling phenophases. Overall, drought can lead to up to 51% yield loss which is why it is imperative to identify and create drought-tolerant genotypes, as well as mine for drought-tolerance genes and traits to accelerate the sunflower breeding process. Through different projects financed by the European Commission and the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia researchers from the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops have undertaken a comprehensive approach to mine for drought-tolerant traits, mainly root traits as well as to examine genetic and epigenetics mechanisms of drought stress tolerance. We have exploited different phenotyping tools for the identification of drought-tolerant sunflower genotypes and associated traits such as in vitro screening and rhizothrons. Further studies will be oriented toward examining the transcriptome and epigenome of the most tolerant and sensitive sunflower genotypes.

Agricultural production faces a significant reduction as a result of unpredictable weather events due to global warming. Among the most significant abiotic stresses contributing to crop yield loss are drought, extreme temperatures, and soil salinity. Sunflower, the fourth most important oil crop worldwide, is considered to be moderately drought tolerant. However, recent studies showed that drought can cause up to 51% yield loss. Breeders are thus facing a complicated challenge - breeding for drought resistance which is a quantitative trait causing complex changes on all levels: morphological, physiological, and molecular. Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops is situated in the Pannonia region which is characterized as one of the European regions that will be the most affected by extreme climate changes such as drought. Within our breeding programs and project activities, we are conducting sunflower phenotyping at the germination stage in in vitro conditions and rhizothrons to identify traits that can be exploited in drought-tolerant sunflower breeding. This research is accompanied by an analysis of the expression of genes identified as of potential interest in enhancing drought tolerance. Further studies will include analysis of lncRNAs and small RNAs to obtain a comprehensive knowledge of mechanisms involved in drought tolerance on a molecular level. The final goal is to identify key drought-tolerant genes as well as epigenetic-targeted genes.

Sunflower is an economically important oil crop, mostly grown in arid and semi-arid regions where drought stress is a major limiting factor. Although sunflower is generally considered tolerant, drought stress still significantly hampers its productivity and nutritional quality across its major cultivation areas. Therefore, understanding the impact of stress and plant response is vital for enhancing the sunflower's drought tolerance. Mitigating the adverse effects of drought on productivity and fostering the development of tolerant sunflower genotypes have emerged as strategic objectives in sunflower breeding. Breeders use all available resources and methods to increase genetic variability, thereby enhancing the probability of generating highly productive genotypes. Several mechanisms (morphological and physiological) have been developed that help mitigate the effects of drought and adapt to arid or water-limited environments. Recognizing that phenotype manifestation depends on genotype-environment interactions, enhancing genetic variation in plant architecture is imperative for optimizing productivity under prevailing environmental conditions. Genomic and transcriptomic studies have elucidated the complex genetic mechanisms underlying sunflower's response to drought stress, facilitating the discovery of novel genes and pathways involved in drought tolerance. This molecular insight has enabled breeders to accelerate the introgression of favorable alleles and genomic regions conferring drought resilience into elite sunflower germplasm.

Suncokret je stranooplodna entomofilna biljka i za uspešnu proizvodnju semena neophodno je prisustvo polinatora. Ispitivan je uticaj uslova oplodnje na elemente prinosa. U slobodnoj oplodnji prinos semena po glavi je u proseku za 12 genotipova u 2 godine ispitivanja bio za 72,13% veći u odnosu na uslove samooplodnje, masa 1000 semena je bila za 10,08% manja a sadržaj ulja veći za gotovo 6%. Uslovi oplodnje značajno utiču na sadržaj ulja što potvrđuje i Spirmanov koeficijent korelacije rangova genotipova po sadržaju ulja u dva tipa oplodnje koji je veoma nizak (Sccr = 0,1119). Na posetu utiču sadržaj nektara, količina i kvalitet polena, dužina krunice, boja cveta i drugi faktori atraktivnosti, ali je veći uticaj faktora spoljašnje sredine i primenjenih agrotehničkih mera., The sunflower is an entomophilous plant, and the presence of pollinators is necessary for successful seed production. The influence of fertilization conditions on yield elements was examined. In open pollination, the seed yield per head was on average 72.13% higher for 12 genotypes in 2 years of testing compared to self-fertilization conditions, the weight of 1000 seeds was 10.08% lower and the oil content was almost 6% higher. Fertilization conditions significantly affect the oil content, which is confirmed by Spearman's coefficient of correlation of genotype ranks by oil content in two types of fertilization, which is very low (Scer = 0.1119). The visit is influenced by the content of nectar, the quantity and quality of pollen, the length of the corolla, the color of the flower and other factors of attractiveness, but the factors of the external environment and applied agrotechnical measures have a greater influence.

Drought is a global threat to food security and is a major abiotic factor limiting crop production. Enhancing drought tolerance in crops is therefore a critical goal in breeding programs worldwide. Despite being considered a moderately drought-tolerant crop, sunflower’s production is still affected by drought. Drought tolerance is a complex trait, that triggers numerous responses at morphological, physiological and molecular levels. Hence, a comprehensive approach is needed to decipher the underlying mechanisms in sunflower. At the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops (IFVCNS), we have created a broad sunflower panel of nearly 50 IFVCNS inbred lines, that were tested under in vitro conditions. Through comprehensive phenotyping, we identify traits associated with drought tolerance. The most drought-tolerant and sensitive genotypes were identified and subjected to further testing in pot experiments to validate the in vitro results and to examine sunflower responses to drought stress at later development stages on transcriptomic and epigenetic levels. Additionally, the recovery capacity of the genotypes is being examined. Current efforts are focused on determine the key mechanisms involved in drought tolerance by analyzing gene expression, transcriptome and epigenome variations. The goal of this research is to identify stable drought-induced transcriptomic and epigenetic variations, as well as target genes and epiQTLs, that can be used in marker-assisted breeding.

Among the effects of wide-ranging climate change, drought presents a significant threat to global agricultural production. Drought reduces yield quantity and quality of crops, particularly in the semi-arid and arid regions. Sunflower is known for its moderate tolerance to water stress conditions thanks to its well-developed root system and ability to grow in different agroecological conditions. However, prolonged exposure to drought significantly reduces sunflower seed and oil yields, impacting global oil quality. Drought stress in sunflower mostly occurs during the seedling stage, vegetative phase or reproductive phase. Understanding the mechanisms and factors influencing drought tolerance is essential for developing resilient sunflower capable of sustaining agricultural productivity in the face of climate variability and water scarcity. Therefore, breeding for drought tolerance is an economical, feasible, and environmentally friendly control method However, it requires the use of the unexploited approach in sunflower research due to the complexity of the trait. Initially, determination of the genetic diversity existing within and between sunflower species remains the basis for elucidating of the genetic structure and for improvement of traits, including drought tolerance. Manipulation of this diversity to improve drought tolerance among sunflower genotypes may be achieved through selection of adaptive mechanisms that include drought escape, avoidance and tolerance. The breeding tools and technologies for drought tolerance are based on so-called “-omics” techniques, including phenomics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics. Phenomics refers to a quantitative description of the plant's morphological, anatomical, ontogenetic, physiological, and biochemical properties. Recent advancements in phenomics, facilitated by highthroughput phenotyping tools, empower researchers to explore multivariate phenotypic information. Utilizing mainly no

Climate change profoundly affects crop production. Under field conditions, there is a cycle of rainfall and rainless periods. The intervals between rainfalls have become prolonged in certain growing areas due to climate change leading to a significant reduction in crop production. The ability of crops to recover from drought stress depends on the species, genotype, and the duration and severity of drought stress. Sunflowers are particularly sensitive to drought at the germination stage. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a test to assess the capacity of sunflower to recover from stress at the initial developmental stage. The test was condected in rhizotrons to monitor root growth in controlled conditions. After 7 days of drought stress, plants were re-watered to reach the control's gravimetric water content (65% qwc). Re-watering in rhizotrons can be challenging due to the surface depth ratio, which hinders the uniform distribution of water. To address this, we introduced a novel slow rewatering method, facilitating a more homogeneous increase in soil water content throughout the rhizotron. For developing this test, we selected a drought-sensitive sunflower line, subjected it to drought conditions (50% gwc), and then re-watered it to observe its recovery capacity. Root and shoot traits between control and treatment were analyzed, including total, primary and lateral root length, root system width and depth, leaf area, and fresh and dry shoot weight. This test will provide valuable insights into how sunflowers recover from drought stress, which will be very helpful in breeding programs.

Broomrape (Orobanche cumana) is a continuous threat to sunflower production. Awidely used method to control this parasitic plant is the development of resistant hybrids. The control method itself requires knowledge of parasite virulence present in the particular region. Virulence determination is based on the reaction of differential sunflower genotypes and several genotypes are in use by researchers to determine broomrape race labeled with capital Latin letters. In Serbia, broomrape is present in some sunflower planting regions. Recently, researched limited number of broomrape populations indicated a sparse presence of race F. In this research over 200 sunflower fields were surveyed for the presence of the parasites. Broomrape plants were collected, air dried and labeled. Parasite virulence was determined using inbred lines AD-66, LC1002, LC1003, LC1093, NR5, and P96, to identify race type based on the reaction of sunflower to broomrape. Experiments were conducted in semi- controlled greenhouse conditions by growing differential lines in pots containing substrate with broomrape seeds. Reaction of each line was determined based on broomrape presence on the host root. Broomrape was found in 88 sunflower fields. In majority of surveyed fields, parasite was found sparsely ranging from few individuals to small patches of infested sunflower plants. Results have confirmed the presence of race F based on the susceptibility of line NR5 and the presence of race G based on the susceptibility of line P96. Further research will include increased number of genotypes to assess variability in broomrape virulence and experiments for genetic diversity determination of parasitic populations of various geographical origin.

Broomrape (Orobanche cumana) is one of the most important constraints for sunflower croping. Parasite populations are segregating on virulence criterion and different races are described. Breeding efforts directed for development of resistant genotypes face challenges such as genetically diverse broomrape populations and broomrape of different virulence. One strategy to minimize the impact of broomrape virulence variability in breeding for resistance is to test sunflower genotypes resistance with broomrape with different origins. In this study, a selection of 24 IFVCNS inbred lines based on resistance to dominant broomrape populations in Serbia was tested to broomrape race F, collected in a sunflower field of Andalusia region in Spain. Six-week greenhouse pot experiments were conducted in CSIC, Spain. The line B117, used as susceptible control, had broomrape on all tested plants. For 13 genotypes no broomrape was present on roots, 10 genotypes had broomrape attached on part of tested plants, and broomrape incidence on one genotype was 100%. Inbred lines were analyzed on the basis of genetic background and importance in breeding. In the group of AB-OR lines, with origins from Helianthus divaricarus, 7 out of 9 lines were completely resistant. Inbred line HA-267, with a single recessive mode of resistance inheritance, was confirmed resistant. Inbred lines, RUB-3 and SOL-SU-26 were also completely resistant to broomrape. The results indicate the importance of using different broomrape populations and conducting multi-location experiments to enhance the breeding process together with using various sources of resistance. Selection of resistance genotypes will be further tested for their resistance to broomrape populations and resilience to adverse enviromental conditions.

Organic agriculture has to satisfy a growing need for food satety with maintaining soil fertility and ameliorating climate change effects. NS confectionary hybrids have good characteristics, uniform color and size and are suitable for machine dehulling.They are used for production of both large amounts of unrefined cold pressed oil and oilcake. Testing NS confenctinary hybrids under different production systems (conventional and organic) is important when breeding for hybrids with a wide degree of adaptability to different cultivation conditions The specific treatments were analyzed under organic cultivation condition. The application of the Guanito organic fertilizer at a dose of 0.5t ha-1 applied during the BBCH 01 stage, the application of Trainer at 3l ha-1 and Natur Plasma at 5l ha-1, were applied during the BBCH 36 stage. This was compared to a purely conventional treatment with mixed NPK fertilizer (50:50:50), and a control cultivation in organic production with no treatment. Five different confenctionary hybrids were analyzed under above conditions, making for 25 unique test conditions. fatty acids, oil content and tocopherol in sunflower seed were measured under lab condition. The analysis firstly was performed with one level ANOVA on both hybrids and different treatments, as well as with two-level ANOVA. Differences between hybrids were found to be significant in the one-way ANOVA for 4 different kind offatty acids, and seed oil content. No ignificant was found with one-way ANOVA test among different treatments. Two-way ANOVA analysis for alpha-tocopherol has been confirmed the significant differences among tested hybrids., The significant interaction were detected between both hybrids and treatments for palmytic, stearic and linoleic content, as well as the significant differences for hybrids is only detected on oleic content. Due to there is no significant differences was found between different models with the Akaike Information Criterion, that's why Wi

Sunflower is the third largest oil crop and in 2023 it was grown on over 28 million hectares in the world. With the discovery of the CMS source in 1969, sunflower hybrids began to be created. The first commercial hybrids based on CMS were registered in Romania, in 1974 and in Yugoslavia, in 1978. It is estimated that hybrids are grown on around 85% of the total sunflower planting area today, and the remaining 15% are still landrace varieties, mostly of the confectionery type. Therefore, the requirement for hybrid sunflower seeds in the world today is around 120 million kg (about 12 million bags of 150,000 grains). To reach to this amount, the sunflower will be with an average yield of 700 kg/ha of processed seeds, it is necessary to plant sunflower with area about 170,000 ha. The total commercial hybrid sunflower seed production is estimated at USD 2 billion today. The production of hybrid sunflower seeds today is exposed to many new challenges. Global climate change facilitate warming environmentally, thus make drought and stormy winds occurrence. By monitoring the daily dynamics of bee visits, we determined that the maximum number of visits occurs at air temperatures between 20 and 28℃, and air humidity of 40-50%. In recent years, the average temperature in Serbia has increased by nearly 2℃ compared to the multi-year average. This has a negative effect on the vitality of pollen and fertilization, as well as on the visit of bees, so the recommendations for supplying beehives have increased from 2 to 4/ha. Bees are the most important pollinators for sunflower and on average make up 71% of the total visit (in some years over 90%), the insects is mainly from the Syrfidae family (19% of visits), bumblebees (8%) and butterflies (2%), whose populations are constantly decreasing. Due to the increase in the sunflower planting area, it is increasingly difficult to ensure spatial isolation of insects, it decreases to 500 m in many countries, and this already leads to increas

Charcoal rot, caused by Macrophomina phaseolina, is a soil-borne plant pathogen, and presents a significant threat to sunflower cultivation, impacting regions across the globe, particularly under drought stress. This disease can substantially decrease sunflower seed yields, with yield reductions of around 20% potentially reaching up to 90% in severe cases. Limited information about the inheritance of charcoal rot resistance is available to sunflower breeders. To study the inheritance of charcoal rot disease resistance in sunflower. We developed two distinct populations of totaling 200 genotypes from the F2 generation of sunflowers for genetic and molecular screening. The first population originated from crossing inbred lines AB OR 8 and PB 21, while the second is from crossing VL A 8 PR and AB OR 8. Notably, AB OR 8 is classified as a highly susceptible line, whereas PB 21 and VL A 8 PR were resistant. The segregation ratio was investigated in F3 populations using the cut-stem method of inoculation. Based on the obtained data, it was determined that the resistance to M. phaseolina in sunflower does not correspond to the theoretical segregation pattern, indicating the presence of more than two genes involved in inheritance of resistance. For the analysis of resistance QTLs, we exploited SSR markers that were equally distributed throughout the sunflower genome. The majority of significantly associated SSR resistance markers were not common to the two mapping populations, except for two, OR S995 and ORS1265, which displayed consistent efficacy across both populations, suggesting their potential as robust indicators. Future research should explore these markers further, as well as include more markers, particularly in larger population samples, to validate their utility comprehensively

Sunflower is a globally important oilseed crop mainly used for oil in human consumption, while secondary products have nutritional value in livestock feed. Neverthless there have been advancements in breeding sunflower genotypes with desirable traits, high yield, and disease resistance, further research is needed to address emerging challenges, such as climate resilience and sustainability. Bearing in mind that sunflower breeding over the last several decades has mainly foucused on biotic and abiotic resilience, sunflower oil content in hybrids has remained at the same level, 40-50%. Considering the trends of climate change, drought tolerance certainly represents an essential trait in breeding programs worldwide. The question arises whether it is time to further orient in sunflower breeding towards increasing oil content, bearing in mind that in light of increasingly frequent dry years. It is very difficult to make progress in seed yield. The aim of our study was to develop sunflower genotypes characterized by drought tolerance and increased oil content (>55%). Initial plant material was selected from a gene pool of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad. We used a traditional approach by crossing highly drought tolerant inbred lines characterized by oil content ranging from 50-52%. Genetic material for drought tolerance was selected based on field trials and in vitro drought conditions, over six vegetations (3 vegetations in field conditions and 3 vegetations in in vitro conditions). Oil content was determined using nuclear magnetic resonance analyzer (NMR, Maran Ultra-10). The pedigree method of selection was used to develop new genetic material with desirable traits. As a result, we developed seven inbred lines designated as DO1 to DO7 characterized by high drought tolerance and high oil content ranging from 55.09% to 60.39%. Our results revealed that there is a possibility for significant improvement in sunflower oil content while simultaneously br

Efficient water supply and timely detection of drought stress in crops to increase yields is an important task considering that agriculture is the primary consumer of water globally. This is particularly significant for plants such as sunflowers, which are an important source of quality edible oils, essential for human nutrition. Traditional detection methods are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and rely on advanced sensor technologies. We introduce an innovative approach based on neural networks and transfer learning for drought stress detection using a novel dataset including 209 non-invasive rhizotron images and 385 images of manually cleaned sections of sunflowers, subjected to normal watering or water stress. We used five neural network models: VGG16, VGG19, InceptionV3, DenseNet, and MobileNet, pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset, whose performance was compared to select the most efficient architecture. Accordingly, the most efficient model, MobileNet, was further refined using different data augmentation mechanisms. The introduction of targeted data augmentation and the use of grayscale images proved to be effective, demonstrating improved results, with an F1 score and an accuracy of 0.95. This approach encourages advances in water stress detection, highlighting the value of artificial intelligence in improving crop health monitoring and management for more resilient agricultural practices.

Suncokret je sve više ižložen negativnim uticajima klimatskih promena, posebno visokim temperaturama i sušnim periodima, što neretko uzrokuje značajne varijacije i smanjenje prinosa semena. S obzirom na to da se klimatske promene ne mogu zaustaviti, neophodno je identifikovati promene u biljci koje omogućavaju prilagođavanje na ekstremne klimatske uslove i primeniti ova saznanja u procesu oplemenjivanja. Stvaranje novih genotipova tolerantnih na sušu i sve vrste stresa je prioritet u sadašnjem ali i budućem procesu oplemenjivanja biljaka. Postizanje ovog cilja zahteva ispitivanje performanši hibrida na više lokaliteta i u ražlićitim godinama, osiguravajuć i tako pouzdane rezultate i prilagodljivost u promenljivim okolnostima. Institut za ratarstvo i povrtarstvo, Institut od nacionalnog značaja za Republiku Srbiju, Novi Sad sprovodi svake godine multilokacijske mikro i proizvodne ogleda širom zemlje, testirajući adaptabilnost i stabilnost novih i već raširenih hibrida suncokreta u različitim mikroklimatskim uslovima. Tokom 2023. godine hibridi nove generacije, odnosno dva konvencionalna hibrida (NS Kruna i NS Ronin) i dva Express (SUMO) hibrida (NS H 8002 i NS H 8005) posejani su u osam regiona tj. okruga, kod četiri poljoprivredna proizvođača a u svakom okrugu. Imajući u vidu da je u 2023. godini, prosečan prinos semena suncokreta u Republici Srbiji prema procenama iznošio 2,7 -2,9 t/ha, a kada uporedimo ovu vrednost sa prosečnim prinosima u mreži proizvodnih ogleda osam okruga, jasno se ističe visok kvalitet NS hibrida suncokreta nove generacije. NS Ronin je ostvario izuzetan prinos od 4,2 t/ha, prati ga NS Kruna sa 4 t/ha, dok su SUMO hibridi NS H 8002 i NS H 8005 postigli prinose od 3,7 t/ha i 3,8 t/ha. Rezultati AMMI analize pokazuju da je za prinos semena tokom 2023. godine u proseku kroz sve okruge najstabilniji bio hibrid NS H 8002, sa vrednosć u IPC1 najblizoj nuli. Hibridi NS Kruna, NS Ronin i NS H 8005 su pokazali manju stabilnost, jer su bili udaljeniji o

One of the major challenges that plant breeders face in the 21st century is food safety for growing human population coupled with extreme climate changes. Accordingly, the most important breeders’ goal is to find appropriate methods in response to these challenges in order to create high-yielding varieties resilient to abiotic and biotic stressors. The aim of this study was to determine optimal doses of gamma irradiation in two wheat and one barley varieties and to apply the identified doses for development of mutant populations. Wheat and barley varieties showed different reactions to applied doses of gamma irradiation. Wheat varieties had germination rate over 90% at all applied doses while barley seeds showed to be more susceptible to gamma irradiation. Gamma irradiation had greater influence on seedling height which was clearly demonstrated by growth reduction with increasing radiation doses. ANOVA showed a significant difference between genotypes, applied doses of gamma radiation as well as genotype by doses interaction for seedling height. At highest dose of 600 Gy, the reduction of seedling height was 94.6%, 96.5% and 96.8% in Simonida, Rudnik and NS 40S, respectively. The irradiation doses that resulted in seedling growth reduction by 50% (GR50) were 210 Gy for barley Rudnik and wheat NS 40S, and 310 Gy for wheat variety Simonida. Identified doses were used for the irradiation of 2000 seeds of each variety in order to produce mutant populations that will be further used in a breeding program for development of varieties with increased resilience to climate change., Jedan od najvećih izazova za oplemenjivače u 21. veku je da se osigura dovoljna količina hrane za rastuću ljudsku populaciju u ekstremnim vremenskim uslovima izazvanim klimatskim promenama. Shodno tome, najvažniji cilj za proces oplemenjivanja je pronalaženje odgovarajućih metoda za stvaranje visokoprinosnih sorti tolerantnih na abiotičke i biotičke faktore stresa. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je da se utvrde optimalne doze gama zračenja za dve sorte pšenice i jednu sortu ječma i da se identifikovane doze primene za razvoj mutantnih populacija. Sorte pšenice i ječma su ispoljile različite reakcije na primenjene doze gama zračenja. Sorte pšenice su imale klijavost preko 90% pri svim primenjenim dozama, dok je za ječam utvrđena veća osetljivost na gama zračenje. Gama zračenje je imalo veći uticaj na visinu klijanaca, pri čemu je redukcija rasta bila izraženija sa povećanjem doze zračenja. Analiza varijanse (ANOVA) je pokazala značajnu razliku u visini klijanaca između genotipova, primenjenih doza gama zračenja kao i interakcije genotip × doza. Pri najvećoj dozi od 600 Gy smanjenje visine klijanaca iznosilo je 94,6%, 96,5% i 96,8% kod Simonide, Rudnika i NS 40S, redom. Doze zračenja pri kojima je redukcija rasta klijanaca bila 50% (GR50) iznosile su 210 Gy za sorte Rudnik i NS 40S dok je za sortu pšenice Simonida bila 310 Gy. Identifikovanim dozama je zračeno 2000 semena svake sorte za proizvodnju mutantnih populacija koje bi se u budućim programima oplemenjivanja mogle koristiti za stvaranje sorti tolerantnih na izmenjene klimatske uslove.

Global agricultural productivity and food security are threatened by climate change, the growing world population, and the difficulties posed by the pandemic era. To overcome these challenges and meet food requirements, breeders have applied and implemented different advanced techniques that accelerate plant development and increase crop selection effectiveness. However, only two or three generations could be advanced annually using these approaches. Speed breeding (SB) is an innovative and promising technology to develop new varieties in a shorter time, utilizing the manipulation of controlled environmental conditions. This strategy can reduce the generation length from 2.5 to 5 times compared to traditional methods and accelerate generation advancement and crop improvement, accommodating multiple generations of crops per year. Beside long breeding cycles, SB can address other challenges related to traditional breeding, such as response to environmental conditions, disease and pest management, genetic uniformity, and improving resource efficiency. Combining genomic approaches such as marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, and genome editing with SB offers the capacity to further enhance breeding efficiency by reducing breeding cycle time, enabling early phenotypic assessment, efficient resource utilization, and increasing selection accuracy and genetic gain per year. Genomics-assisted SB holds the potential to revolutionize plant breeding by significantly accelerating the identification and selection of desirable genetic traits, expediting the development of improved crop varieties crucial for addressing global agricultural challenges.

NS OLIVA SUMO, hibrid suncokreta, priznat je od strane Ministarstva za poljoprivredu Rumunije (Ministerul agriculturii si dezvoltarii rurale), rešenje Nacionalnog Instituta za testiranje i registraciju biljnih vrsta (Institutul de stat pentru testarea si inregistrarea soiurilor (ISTIS) broj 2653 od 04.04.2024. godine, Bukurešt, Rumunija.