GENETIC SOURCES OF RESISTANCE TO BLACKBIRD PREDATION IN SUNFLOWER
Fifty-one sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) inbreds were grown at three environments (locations) in North Dakota. Inbreds at two locations were subjected to naturally occurring bird predation by redwinged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus L.) and yellowheaded blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus Bonaparte). The third sunflower plot was surrounded by a cage into which redwinged blackbirds were introduced. Bird damage was estimated as percent achenes removed from individual sunflower heads. Significant differences among environments were observed (P < 0.01). However, genotype performance among environments was highly correlated (P < 0.01). Half sib progeny from 36 of these inbreds were grown along with their maternal inbred parents to estimate narrow sense heritability (h2NS) of resistance to bird predation. Estimates of h2NS obtained by parent offspring regression and by covariance among half-sib families were h2NS = 0.69 and h2NS = 0.66, respectively. These estimates indicate a 67% level of heritability for resistance to bird predation, and suggest that it should be possible to develop sunflower lines with improved resistance.Key words: Sunflower, bird feeding, redwinged blackbird, yellowheaded blackbird