Abstract
Four sunflower varieties and their all possible crosses excluding reciprocals were studied for the estimation of genetic variability and correlations of various plant traits with bird damage. The estimation of phenotypic correlation coefficients for bird damage were positive with the flowering and maturity periods, head shape, head diameter, hull percentage and oil concentration but were negative with stem inclination, l00-achene weight and plant height. Highly significant variation among genotypes for these traits suggested that these traits could be utilised for improving resistance of sunflower to bird damage.
