Response of advanced sunflower hybrids to head moth infestation

Sunflower is achieving the status of major oilseed crop of Pakistan. Nutritional profile of Sunflower oil ensures its safety for the humans. Insect pests are responsible for severe damage of quantity and quality of produce. A better strategy to cope with this menace is to develop hybrids which are less susceptible to the insects and tolerant to the ever-changing environment which imparts significant impact on insect population buildup. Aim of the study was to evaluate the fifteen newly developed sunflower hybrids for their susceptibility status to head moth. The tested sunflower hybrids showed variation in susceptibility to insects. However, it is concluded that all sunflower hybrids expressed less susceptible response to head moth. Incidence of head moth was minimum in case of three hybrids; FH-713, FH-743 and FH-744. Potential of these advanced hybrids should be further explored to strengthen their existing resistance capability.