MANY OF THE ISSUES FACING MODERN AGRICULTURE, INCLUDING INEFFICIENT NUTRIENT AND WATER USE, SOIL EROSION, AND HIGH LEVELS OF CARBON EMISSIONS PARTIALLY STEM FROM AN OVERRELIANCE ON ANNUAL GRAIN PRODUCTION. PERENNIAL AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO REDUCE THESE EFFECTS THROUGH THEIR EXTENSIVE ROOT SYSTEMS, MORE PERMANENT GROUND COVER, AND REDUCED NEED FOR TILLAGE. HOWEVER, FEW PERENNIAL ALTERNATIVES EXIST TO REPLACE THE GRAIN CROPS WHICH FORM THE FOUNDATION OF AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. TO HELP ADDRESS THIS GAP, MY RESEARCH CONTRIBUTES TO EFFORTS TO DOMESTICATE SILPHIUM INTEGRIFOLIUM OR SILFLOWER, A WILD RELATIVE OF THE SUNFLOWER NATIVE TO THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES, AS A PERENNIAL OILSEED CROP.CURRENTLY, LITTLE INFORMATION EXISTS ABOUT WHAT TRAITS ARE IMPORTANT FOR THE DOMESTICATION OF SILFLOWER OR HOW THESE TRAITS VARY WITH THE ENVIRONMENT. TO ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS, I HAVE EVALUATED A POPULATION OF SILFLOWER IN ENVIRONMENTS RANGING FROM SOUTHEAST TEXAS TO NORTHWEST MINNESOTA OVER THE COURSE OF THREE YEARS FOR A NUMBER OF TRAITS, SUCH AS HEIGHT, FLOWERING DATE, AND SEED WEIGHT. THIS DATA, COMBINED GENETIC DATA ABOUT THESE SILFLOWER PLANTS, WILL HELP INDICATE WHICH INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE USED AS PARENTS IN SILFLOWER BREEDING PROGRAMS. ONE SIGNIFICANT HURDLE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SILFLOWER BREEDING PROGRAMS IS THAT SOME SILFLOWER PLANTS ARE UNABLE TO MATE SUCCESSFULLY WITH THEIR CLOSE RELATIVES, AND IN OTHER PLANTS MATING WITH CLOSE RELATIVES MAY RESULT IN SEVERE REDUCTIONS IN THE HEALTH OF OFFSPRING. THROUGH MY RESEARCH, I PLAN TO USE GENETIC INFORMATION THAT WILL ALLOW US TO LAY A FOUNDATION FOR THE ABILITY TO PREDICT PAIRINGS OF SILFLOWER PLANTS THAT WILL BE SUCCESSFUL, AND TO QUANTIFY THE COST OF MATING WITH RELATIVES.COMBINED, MY RESEARCH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GREATLY ENHANCE OUR ABILITY TO DOMESTICATE AND DEVELOP SILFLOWER AS A CROP. MOST IMMEDIATELY, THIS WORK WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO OTHER RESEARCHERS BREEDING SILFLOWER, BUT ULTIMATELY MY WORK WILL SERVE PRODUCERS AND CONSUMERS WHO ARE DRIVEN TO REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE.