Abstract

Sunflower is one of the important oil crops in Turkey and the world. Sunflower seed yield does not increase in the hybrids obtained using classical breeding methods due to the same CMS sources in last years. To get high yield in sunflower, new gene sources should be obtained from wild types via interspecific hybridization using molecular breeding methods. In vitro culture, genetic transformation and molecular marker techniques such as PCR, RFLP etc. have been used successfully until today in sunflower. Developing genetic maps and family trees, determining the origin of cultivated sunflower, new genes obtained from other species, double haploids using anther or microspore cultures are succeeded important developments in sunflower molecular breeding and biotechnology in the last years.