Comparison of seed germination and seedling growth of wild and cultivated sunflower

The physiological parameters of the seeds were monitored in 4 annual wild sunflower species and 7 genotypes of cultivated sunflower. Seed germination and parameters of growth (seedling mass and length of seedling shoots and roots) were tested under laboratory conditions using the standard laboratory test. Wet sterilized filter paper was used as the germination medium. The emergence in field conditions of cultivated sunflower was also tested. Field emergence is determined by counting the plants between the phase of well-developed first pair and the beginning of development of the second pair of leaves. The obtained results indicate differences in seed germination of wild (averaged 73%) and cultivated sunflower (averaged 95%), where the germination of cultivated sunflower was expected to be higher. Comparing the germination of cultivated sunflower in laboratory and field conditions, it is noted that the germination was lower in the field (averaged 72%), and that in laboratory conditions it was uniform in all genotypes, while significant differences were observed in the fiel