HYBRIDIZATION BETWEEN CULTIVATED SUNFLOWER AND WILD SPECIES HELIANTHUS BOLANDERI A. GRAY

Interspecific hybridization was carried out between sterile analogues of cultivated sunflower lines with normal cytoplasm and wild annual Helianthus bolanderi accession E-009 from collection of DAIGeneral Toshevo. Hybrid plants were produced using classical breeding methods and the biotechnological method embryo rescue. The degree of crossability and the inheritance of some morphological traits were determined. The obtained F1 progenies were characterized from morphological and phytopathological point of view. Hybrid forms distinguished with resistance to stem canker, phoma and downy mildew were obtained. The hybrid plants, carriers of Rf genes for CMS Pet 1, could be used in sunflower breeding programs for developing restorer lines

Analaysis of Important Indices in New Bulgarian Hybrids Linzi and Deveda

Hybrids Linzi and Deveda are conventional hybrids and created at Dobroudzha Agricultural Institute, General Toshevo, Bulgaria. They are the latest hybrids for our new sunflower selection. A structural analysis on important biometric indices related to the production potential of sunflower hybrids Linzi and Deveda and their parental lines was done. The data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression and correlation. The indices 1000 seed weight (g), kernel and husk (%25), oil content in kernels and oil content of seed (%25) were studied. The mathematical models clearly demonstrated that correlation was established between the investigated indices. They have strong influence on the productivity of these two hybrids

BREEDING OF SUNFLOWER (HELIANTHUS ANNUUS L.) AT DOBRUDZHA AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE – GENERAL TOSHEVO

Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute – General Toshevo is the only breeding center of sunflower in Bulgaria. Since its establishement in 1951, over 50 varieties and hybrids of this crop have been developed here. More than 15 joint hybrids have been registered abroad, the result from cooperation with our European partners. The institute has a rich and variable collection of initial breeding materials. The methods we use in our breeding work are intraspecific, interlinear, interspecific and intergeneric hybridization, experimental mutagenesis, embryoculture, somaclonal variation, in vitro screening and selection. The methods for evaluation of resistance to economically important diseases and the parasite Orobanche have been adapted to the working conditions of the Institute. Morphological, biological, technological, biochemical and phytopathological characterizations of the released and registered hybrids and their parental lines have been made. Many new materials have been developed during the last decade, which possess valuable breeding properties. Over 6000 inbred lines are involved in the breeding work. Annually, 1400 new hybrid combinations are being tested in Bulgaria and abroad. Hybrids have been developed, which possess very good productivity and adaptability potential, and which have been registered in Bulgaria, EU and other foreign contries. Some foreign companies included our new hybrids (Velko, Veleka, Yana, Divna, Valin, etc.) in their catalogs and are successfully organizing their seed production and marketing in the respective countries. A new direction of our breeding is the devlopment of sunflower hybrids resistant to herbicides. Several hybrids - Enigma, Sunny imi, Desi, Viyani, Danaya, etc., are now within the system of official testing in Bulgaria and abroad. Their registration is forthcoming. The aim of this investigation was to present the current status and achievements of the breeding work on sunflower at DAI-General Toshevo during the last decade

Hybridization Between Cultivated Sunflower and Wild Species Helianthus bolanderi A. Gray

Interspecific hybridization was carried out between sterile analogues of cultivated sunflower lines with normal cytoplasm and wild annual Helianthus bolanderi accession E-009 from collection of DAI-General Toshevo. Hybrid plants were produced using classical breeding methods and the biotechnological method embryo rescue. The degree of crossability and the inheritance of some morphological traits were determined. The obtained F1 progenies were characterized from morphological and phytopathological point of view. Hybrid forms distinguished with resistance to stem canker, phoma and downy mildew were obtained. The hybrid plants, carriers of Rf genes for CMS Pet 1, could be used in sunflower breeding programs for developing restorer lines

Gene banks for wild and cultivated sunflower genetic resources

Modern breeding of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), which started 100 years ago, increased the number and the diversity of cultivated forms. In addition, for more than 50 years, wild sunflower and other Helianthus species have been collected in North America where they all originated. Collections of both cultivated and wild forms are maintained in gene banks in many countries where sunflower is an important crop, with some specificity according to the availability of germplasm and to local research and breeding programmes. Cultivated material includes land races, open pollinated varieties, synthetics and inbred lines. The majority of wild accessions are ecotypes of wild Helianthus annuus, but also 52 other species of Helianthus and a few related genera. The activities of three gene banks, in USA, France and Serbia, are described in detail, supplemented by data from seven other countries. Past and future uses of the genetic resources for environmental adaptation and breeding are discussed in relation to genomic and improved phenotypic knowledge of the cultivated and wild accessions available in the gene banks.L’amélioration moderne du tournesol (Helianthus annuus L.) a débuté il y a un siècle, diversifiant et augmentant le nombre des formes cultivées du tournesol. De plus, des collectes de tournesols sauvages et d’espèces du genre Helianthus ont lieu depuis 50 ans en Amérique du Nord d’où ils sont tous originaires. Ainsi, des collections de tournesols cultivés et sauvages sont conservées par des centres de ressources génétiques dans de nombreux pays où le tournesol est une culture importante. Chacun d’eux présente des spécificités par rapport aux ressources génétiques maintenues, en fonction des programmes de recherche ou de sélection variétale locales. Le matériel génétique cultivé comprend des écotypes, des populations et des lignées tandis que les accessions sauvages correspondent eux écotypes d’Helianthus annuus sauvages et des 52 autres espèces apparentées du genre Helianthus. Les activités de trois centres de ressources génétiques des États-Unis, de la France et de la Serbie sont décrites en détail, complétées par des données provenant des centres de sept autres pays. L’historique de l’utilisation des ressources génétiques et les perspectives futures pour l’adaptation des variétés à l’environnement sont discutés ainsi que leur caractérisation au niveau génomique et phénotypique.The Supplementary Material is available at [https://www.ocljournal.org/10.1051/ocl/2020004/olm]

Animal welfare during transport: comparison of mortality during transport from farm to slaughter of different animal species and categories in the Czech Republic

Animals may be subjected to various stressors during transport, which may compromise their health and welfare as well as meat quality. In the chain of operations between a farm and a slaughterhouse, animal transport is probably the most stressful and injurious stage. Data on mortality is commonly collected at slaughterhouse as a retrospective indicator of animal welfare during transport. Ten-year prevalence of mortality of all the species and categories of animals (cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits and ostriches) regularly scheduled for slaughter in the Czech slaughterhouses was assessed as dead on arrival after road transport from 2010 to 2019. Among livestock, the highest mortality was found in pigs (0.065%); statistically higher compared to cattle (0.027%) and sheep (0.015%). In animals shipped in containers (rabbits, broiler chickens, end-of-lay hens, turkeys, geese and ducks), the highest prevalence was found in laying hens (0.507%), statistically higher compared to broiler chickens (0.425%) and rabbits (0.199%). The lowest prevalence was observed in geese (0.003%). There was a trend for decreasing death losses of pigs in more recent years and losses in broiler chickens and ducks increased. The results indicate that the current transport conditions should be re-evaluated for poultry. Emphasis should be put on the assessment of animal fitness before transport. This is especially important for animals at the end of their production cycle such as dairy cows, sows, and laying hens. They were more likely to die during the journey. Highlights Dead on arrival is an animal-based measure commonly applied at slaughterhouse as a retrospective indicator of animal welfare during transport. In a cross-species comparison, the highest prevalence was observed for animals transported in cages and for end of production cycle animals. To reduce mortality, several factors have to be considered by the meat industry other than the species-related ability to cope with transport

The Welfare of Cattle, Sheep, Goats and Pigs from the Perspective of Traumatic Injuries Detected at Slaughterhouse Postmortem Inspection

The welfare of cattle, pigs, sheep and goats was assessed by measuring trauma detected during veterinary postmortem inspection at slaughterhouses. The subject of this evaluation were all bovine, porcine, ovine and caprine animals slaughtered at Czech slaughterhouses in the monitored period, i.e., a total of 1,136,754 cows, 257,912 heifers, 1,015,541 bulls, 104,459 calves, 586,245 sows, 25,027,303 finisher pigs, 123,191 piglets, 22,815 ewes, 114,264 lambs, 1348 does and 5778 kids. The data on the numbers of traumatic findings were obtained retrospectively from a national veterinary database collecting data from slaughterhouse postmortem examinations. The results showed that findings of trauma were observed at a low frequency in the studied species. Injuries were detected most frequently in cows (1.71%). In contrast, no findings associated with the presence of trauma were recorded in does and kids. From the viewpoint of trauma localization, findings on the limbs were more frequent than findings on the body (p < 0.01). The only exceptions to this were lambs, does and kids, for which there was no statistically significant difference between findings on the limbs and the body (p = 1.00). The results show that housing system (bedding, the presence of slats, floor hardness), transport of animals to the slaughterhouse (moving animals to the vehicle, loading ramps, floors in transport vehicles and the transport of animals itself) and design of the slaughterhouse (unloading ramps, passageways and slaughterhouse floors) have a greater impact on the limbs than the bodies of animals in the majority of species. A difference was also demonstrated in the occurrence of findings of trauma in the limbs and body (p < 0.01) between culled adult animals and fattened animals, namely in cattle and pigs. A difference (p < 0.01) between ewes and lambs was found only in the occurrence of traumatic injury to the limbs. The results showed that fattened animals are affected by the risk of trauma to a lesser extent than both culled adult animals and young animals. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) were also found between the studied species and categories of animals. The category most affected from the viewpoint of injury both to the limbs and body was cows. In contrast to cows that are typically reared indoors, the low frequency of traumatic findings was found in small ruminants and in bulls, i.e., animals typically reared outdoors. Assumedly, access to pasture may be beneficial considering the risk of traumatic injury

EFFECT OF EXTENDED AGING UPON TEXTURAL ASPECTS OF TRADITIONAL BULGARIAN DRY-CURED HAM

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of prolong ripening and drying on quality aspects of traditional Bulgarian dry cured ham. After 8, 18 and 36 months of aging comparative textural profiling of dry cured ham were established. Ham sensory profile as well as physicochemical, morphological characteristics, proteolysis index and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) were investigated. Excessive aging up to 36 months of dry-cured ham lead to decreased hardness, but lower sensory values, characterizing overall textural perception tenderness of the samples. Hams of higher ripening and drying had statistically significant increased proteolysis index and lower values of WBSF. Morphological analysis revealed significant qualitative and quantitative differences between sample groups. Thus, miofibrilar fragments increased remarkably in samples with higher proteolysis index scores. In addition, longest aging hams showed increased degradation for a total myofibrillar structure. Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) had a significant relationship with the sensory tenderness variables, such as softness, chewiness, and rate of breakdown in mouth

Phytochemical and biological investigations on Centranthus kellereri (Stoj., Stef. & T. Georgiev) Stoj. & Stef. and C. ruber (L.) DC. and their potential as new medicinal and ornamental plants.

IntroductionCentranthus kellereri is a Bulgarian endemic plant species, found only in two locations in the world: The Balkans Mountains (Stara Planina), above the town of Vratsa, and The Pirin Mountains, above the town of Bansko, Bulgaria. Being endemic and endangered species precluded any significant research on it. The hypothesis of this study was that the populations of C. kellereri may represent genetically, phytochemically, and morphologically distinct forms and these will differentiate from C. ruber. Furthermore, C. kellereri possibly imperfect embryology may preclude its more widespread distribution under natural conditions.ResultsThis study revealed the phytochemical profile, antioxidant activity, embryology, surface microstructural morphological traits, and genetic differences between the C. kellereri plants from the only two natural populations and compares them to the ones of the related and better-known plant C. ruber. The essential oil (EO) content in aboveground plant parts and in roots was generally low and the EO composition varied significantly as a function of plant part, year of sampling, location, and species. Methylvaleric acid was a major EO constituent in the C. kellereri EO, ranging between 60.2% and 71.7% of the total EO. The EO included monoterpenes, sequiterpenes, long-chain alkanes and fatty acids. Phytochemical analyses of plant tissue revealed the occurrence of 32 compounds that were tentatively identified as 6 simple phenolics, 18 flavonoids, 1 quinone, 1 lipid, 1 alkaloid, 2 diterpenes, and 3 triterpenes. There were differences in detected compounds between the C. kellereri plants at the two locations and between the roots and shoots in both species. The total phenols and flavonoids varied between the two species but were also dissimilar between the plants from the two populations of C. kelleri. Free radical scavenging activity, measured with ABTS and DPPH in aqueous and methanol extracts, had similar values; however, overall, C. kellereri from Vratsa showed the highest antioxidant activity while C. ruber had the lowest activity. Genetic analyses showed a clear differentiation between C. kellereri and C. ruber, and between the two populations of C. kellereri. Embryological studies revealed the peculiarities of the male and female generative spheres of the two species that were defined as being sexually reproducing. The pollen had high viability; however, the low viability of seeds demonstrated possible high sensitivity of C. kellereri to the environmental conditions, perhaps the main factor modifying and restricting the population sizes. The SEM analyses exposed differences in surface microstructural traits between the species (C. kellereri and C. ruber) but also between the two populations of C. kellereri. The observed dissimilarities in genetic makeup, micromorphological characteristics, and phytochemical composition strongly indicate that the two populations can be classified as distinct subspecies or varieties of C. kellereri; var. pirinensis and var. balkanensis. Further research is needed to introduce C. kellereri into culture and develop it as a high-value specialty crop or ornamental in order to conserve C. kellereri natural populations. C. kellereri may be utilized as a source for phytochemicals of interest and as an ornamental plant like C. ruber; however, it may have a greater environmental plasticity and adaptation as evidenced by its current locations

Not Available

Not AvailableModern breeding of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), which started 100 years ago, increased the number and the diversity of cultivated forms. In addition, for more than 50 years, wild sunflower and other Helianthus species have been collected in North America where they all originated. Collections of both cultivated and wild forms are maintained in gene banks in many countries where sunflower is an important crop, with some specificity according to the availability of germplasm and to local research and breeding programmes. Cultivated material includes land races, open pollinated varieties, synthetics and inbred lines. The majority of wild accessions are ecotypes of wild Helianthus annuus, but also 52 other species of Helianthus and a few related genera. The activities of three gene banks, in USA, France and Serbia, are described in detail, supplemented by data from seven other countries. Past and future uses of the genetic resources for environmental adaptation and breeding are discussed in relation to genomic and improved phenotypic knowledge of the cultivated and wild accessions available in the gene banksNot Availabl