Breeding, production, and supply chain of confection sunflower in China

Authors: FENG, JIUHUAN - Institute Of Sunflower Technology Sunrise Agritec Co, Ltd; JAN, CHAO-CHIEN - Retired ARS Employee; Seiler, Gerald

Submitted to: OCL - Oilseeds & fats, Crops and Lipids
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/31/2022
Publication Date: 2/22/2022
Citation: Feng, J., Jan, C., Seiler, G.J. 2022. Breeding, production, and supply chain of confection sunflower in China. OCL - Oilseeds & fats, Crops and Lipids. 29. Article 13. https://doi.org/10.1051/ocl/2022004.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/ocl/2022004

Interpretive Summary: Sunflowers are grown for two types of products, oil and edible confection. The major portion of the global sunflower production is for oil, with confection production varying from a few percent to around 20% depending on the country. In China, confection sunflower accounts for 95% of its production and China has become a major producer and exporter of in-shell confection sunflower driven by consumer demands for quality products and a maturing market. Confection sunflower breeding in China has gone full circle by first growing local land races, open-pollinated varieties, foreign hybrids, and recently domestic hybrids. Sunflower production in China is mainly concentrated in 10 provinces of the northwest region with around three-fourths of the production in Inner Mongolia, followed by Xinjiang. These areas have become the epicenter of confection sunflower breeding and production with an accompanying development of storage, processing, and marketing facilities completing the supply chain. Future directions for confection sunflower breeding in China will continue to emphasize high quality, multi-disease resistance, and product versatility to meet the diverse market demands.

Technical Abstract: Over the past 40 years, confection sunflower in China has achieved significant improvements from old landraces to open-pollinated varieties (OPV) through conventional breeding. Starting in 2010, after a short period of growing U.S. hybrids, superior Chinese proprietary hybrids were developed through contributions from both the private and public sectors utilizing old landraces, open-pollinated varieties and limited foreign germplasms enabling China to become a leading producer worldwide. The average yields have steadily increased from 1730 kg/ha (OPV) to over 2700 kg/ha (hybrid) largely due to genetic improvements and advanced cultivation practices. The planted area is expected to remain at around 0.60 M ha, with over 95% confection sunflower, and the remaining 5% oilseed type. Sunflower production in China is mainly concentrated in 10 provinces of the northwest region with around three-fourths of the production in Inner Mongolia, followed by Xinjiang. The potential for increased sunflower cultivation remains optimistic in those regions due to the benefit of an established industrial supply chain of producing, storing, processing, and marketing near the production areas. Almost half of all products are domestically consumed, but overseas exports have gradually increased in recent years. Future directions for confection sunflower breeding should continue emphasizing high quality, multi-disease resistance, and product versatility to meet the diverse market demands. Further enhancement of variety registration and the implementation of DNA fingerprinting for variety identification will help the sustainable development of the Chinese sunflower industry.