CONTROL OF OROBANCHE CUMANA WALLR: RESEARCH ON SUSTAINABILITY OF SUNFLOWER HYBRIDS AND STRATEGIES FOR PARASITE PROTECTION

The work is devoted to solving an important scientific task of determining the spread and harmfulness of broomrape, its racial composition, and developing measures to protect sunflower from this parasite. The aim of the research was to determine the resistance of sunflower hybrids to the broomrape parasite. During the research, a vegetation experiment was used to determine the racial composition of the parasite and the resistance of different sunflower hybrids to it. Sunflower hybrids were evaluated for resistance to broomrape in soil culture using a modified method and the roll method of seed germination. From the northern Steppe of Ukraine, broomrape is actively moving to the central, northern and western regions of the country. The practical value of the work is to determine the resistance of sunflower hybrids to broomrape. Differentiation of sunflower hybrids grown by resistance to the parasite was carried out. It has been observed that the broomrape population exhibits a significant level of virulence capable of overcoming the immunity found in the most resilient foreign-bred hybrids resistant to E, F, and G races of this parasite. The appearance of highly aggressive new races of broomrape (E, F, G, and H) in the Forest-Steppe and Polissya regions underscores the crucial necessity to address the challenge of developing breeding material resistant to these novel races of the parasitic plant. This entails an in-depth exploration of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying sunflower resistance to the pathogen. The widespread buildup of parasite races E, F, G, and H in sunflower crops is linked to the disruption of crop rotations and the extensive cultivation of hybrids of this crop. These hybrids are primarily resistant to races 5 (E) and 6 (F) of the parasite. The results of the research can be used in the regions farms for successful protection against broomrape, as well as in breeding programs to create sunflower hybrids resistant to new races of the parasite and corn hybrids that cause better germination of seeds of this pathogen in the soil and their death by their root secretions.