Sunflower

AbstractThere are two primary types of cultivated sunflower: oilseed sunflower and confectionary sunflower. Oilseed sunflower is one of the most important oilseed crops in the world and is the preferred source of oil for domestic consumption and cooking worldwide. Confectionary sunflower produces large seeds with low oil content and used in baking and snack applications. Sunflower oil has been used in biodiesel and sunflower can produce high quality rubber. The various usages of sunflower products in food, feed, and industry are stimulating the development of sunflower molecular breeding in combination with conventional and transgenic breeding methods. This chapter describes the history of sunflower, summarizes the achievements of conventional and transgenic breeding, and discusses the impact of new technologies on sunflower product development. Molecular breeding and transgenic approaches can be synergistic in product development. The great potential of sunflower industrial use will likely to advance sunflower biotechnology to a bright new era and foster the development of “industrial sunflower ” with enhanced oils for biofuel in the seeds and enhanced latex content in leaves and stems for rubber manufacture.