Sulfonylurea-tolerant sunflower plants

Abstract

This invention relates to sunflower lines and hybrids tolerant to sulfonylurea herbicides wherein the tolerance trait is obtained using induced mutagenesis and artificial selection, and to a method for selectively controlling undesired vegetation, including parasitic weeds, by applying sulfonylurea herbicides to sulfonylurea-tolerant sunflower crops.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for producing a sunflower line containing a highly heritable trait conferring tolerance to sulfonylurea herbicides, wherein the method comprises:
 (a) treating sunflower seeds with a mutagenic agent;   (b) growing the treated seeds into mature plants to produce second-generation seeds;   (c) harvesting the second-generation seeds;   (d) germinating the second-generation seeds in the presence of an selectably effective amount of a sulfonylurea herbicide to select for survival only germinated seeds containing a trait conferring tolerance to the sulfonylurea herbicide; and   (e) growing a surviving germinated seed into a mature plant to produce through self-pollination seeds of the sunflower line containing the heritable trait.   
     
     
         2 . A sunflower seed containing a highly heritable trait conferring tolerance to sulfonylurea herbicides, wherein said trait is obtained through mutagenesis. 
     
     
         3 . A seed of  claim 2  designated sunflower line M7, representative seed of said line M7 having been deposited under ATCC Deposit Nos. PTA-2295 and PTA-2296. 
     
     
         4 . A seed of  claim 2  designated sunflower line M11, representative seed of said line M11 having been deposited under ATCC Deposit Nos. PTA-2767 and PTA-2768. 
     
     
         5 . A seed of  claim 2  designated sunflower line M12, representative seed of said line M12 having been deposited under ATCC Deposit Nos. PTA-2769 and PTA-2770. 
     
     
         6 . A sunflower plant, or a part thereof, grown from a seed of  claim 3 ,  4  or  5 . 
     
     
         7 . A seed of  claim 2  further containing a trait conferring resistance to  Orobanche  parasitism. 
     
     
         8 . A sunflower plant, or a part thereof, produced by growing the seed of  claim 2 . 
     
     
         9 . Pollen of the plant of  claim 8 . 
     
     
         10 . An ovule of the plant of  claim 8 . 
     
     
         11 . A tissue culture of regenerable cells from the plant of  claim 8 . 
     
     
         12 . A method for producing inbred sunflower seed having tolerance to sulfonylurea herbicides comprising crossing a first parent sunflower plant with a second parent sunflower plant and harvesting the resultant inbred sunflower seed, wherein the first and second parent sunflower plants is the sunflower plant of  claim 8 . 
     
     
         13 . An inbred sunflower seed produced by the method of  claim 12 . 
     
     
         14 . An inbred sunflower plant, or a part thereof, produced by growing the inbred seed of  claim 13 . 
     
     
         15 . A seed produced from the inbred plant of  claim 14 . 
     
     
         16 . A method for producing hybrid sunflower seed having resistance to sulfonylurea herbicides comprising crossing a first parent sunflower plant with a second parent sunflower plant and harvesting the resultant hybrid sunflower seed, wherein the first or second parent sunflower plant is the sunflower plant of  claim 8 . 
     
     
         17 . A hybrid sunflower seed produced by the method of  claim 16 . 
     
     
         18 . A hybrid sunflower plant, or a part thereof, produced by growing the hybrid seed of  claim 17 . 
     
     
         19 . A seed produced from the hybrid plant of  claim 18 . 
     
     
         20 . A method for controlling undesired vegetation in a crop of sunflower plants of any one of  claim 8 ,  14  or  18  comprising applying to the locus of the vegetation an effective amount of a sulfonylurea herbicide. 
     
     
         21 . A method of  claim 20  wherein the undesired vegetation comprises a parasitic weed. 
     
     
         22 . A method of  claim 21  wherein the parasitic weed is an  Orobanche  species. 
     
     
         23 . A method of  claim 20  wherein the sulfonylurea herbicide is tribenuron-methyl. 
     
     
         24 . A method of  claim 20  wherein the sulfonylurea herbicide is metsulfuron-methyl. 
     
     
         25 . A method of  claim 20  wherein the sulfonylurea herbicide is ethametsulfuron-methyl. 
     
     
         26 . A method of  claim 20  wherein the sulfonylurea herbicide is applied post-emergence to the crop of sunflower plants. 
     
     
         27 . A method for controlling volunteer sunflower plants of any one of  claim 8 ,  14  or  18  in a cereal crop comprising applying to the locus of the volunteer sunflower plants an effective amount of 2,4-D. 
     
     
         28 . A method of controlling volunteer sunflower plants of any one of  claim 8 ,  14  or  18  in a sugar beet crop comprising applying to the locus of the volunteer sunflower plants an effective amount of a mixture of triflusulfuron-methyl and phenmedipham.