Studies on the effect of various growth retardants on morphological characters in sunflower genotypes indicated that growth retardants had significant influence on all the morphological parameters except, the head diameter. The foliar application of mepiquat chloride at the rate of 1000 ppm on 55 days after sowing resulted in the significant reduction in plant height, number of leaves and leaf area in both KBSH-1 and Morden. Among the genotypes, the per cent reduction in morphological characters was more in KBSH-1 as compared to Morden. The decrease in leaf area per plant due to the application of growth retardants was attributed to significant reduction in number of leaves and plant height