Correlation and Multivariate Analysis of Morpho-Physiological and Quality Attributes in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Abstract

Six sunflower hybrids were assessed in this study using a randomized complete block design with three replications for ten agronomic, morphological, yield and oil quality traits in agro-climatic conditions of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Significant differences between hybrids were found using analysis of variance for every trait that was measured, indicating a high degree of phenotypic variation. While HYSUN-33 demonstrated high vegetative development and the greatest yield, FH-946 was notable for having the highest oil content and oleic acid concentration combined with the lowest linoleic acid concentration. Pearson correlation analysis showed that plant height was positively correlated with yield (r = 0.72), and yield was positively correlated with 100 seed weight and days to flowering. On the other hand, plant height showed a negative correlation with oil content indicating contrasting relationships between oil quality and productivity. First two components of the principal component analysis were responsible for 77.4% of the total variation. PC1 was associated with agronomic and productivity related traits, while PC2 was a key component of oil quality and seed-related variation. Overall results show that the assessed hybrids have complementing combinations of desired qualities rather than universal superiority of a single hybrid, highlighting the significance of multivariate and integrated correlation techniques for trait-based sunflower selection and breeding under comparable production circumstances.