Description:
Several chemicals are known to induce male sterility in crop species. Among various chemical hybridizing agents, synthetic detergents are an inexpensive option for induction of male sterility, and can be exploited in developing countries due to their availability. Experiments were carried out on sunflower (Helianthus annuus) genotypes to optimize the concentration of the synthetic detergent and determine the most appropriate plant phenological stage to induce male sterility. Several concentrations of the chemical detergent Surf excel (0–2%, w/v) were sprayed over four phenological stages (R1–R4). A detergent concentration of 1.5% applied at the R1 stage produced the highest percentage of floral male sterility. In contrast, synthetic detergent treatments failed to induce any sterility when floral heads were treated beyond the R3 stage. This detergent treatment was compared to other chemical hybridizing agents (CHAs) using multiple genotypes. The detergent was similar to gibberellic acid in its efficiency of inducing floral male sterility, but demonstrated a reduced deleterious effect on morphological traits and a high percentage of seed setting, when CHA-treated floral heads were pollinated using control plants. This study demonstrated that this detergent was an easy CHA option for inducing male sterility, independent of genotypic effects