Sunflower 🌻farming

Sunflower Farming

Sunflower is locally known as Suraj Mukhi and in Sindh, it’s called “Dalda”. It is called a sunflower as it follows the sun and always turns toward its direct rays. It is an important oilseed crop in the country. Sunflower oil is most popular because of its light colour, bland flavour, high smoke point and high level of linoleic acid which is good for heart patients. Sunflower seed contains about 48– 53 per cent edible oil.

Sunflower is a herbaceous annual plant grown for its seeds. The plant has a thick, hairy, erect stem giving rise to a large flower head. The plant has large, broad lower leaves which are oval and arranged alternately on the stem. The flower head is a large disc reaching 10-30 cm (4-12 in) in diameter which is made up of 16-30 individual florets which are yellow-gold in colour. Sunflowers are annual plants, harvested after one growing season and can reach 1-3.5 m (3.3-11.5 ft.) in height. The seeds are 10-25 mm long, 8-15 mm wide, and 3-7.5 mm thick. One thousand seeds weigh 50-100 g and in many cases much more. The seeds' size, weight, and viability decrease from the periphery to the centre of the head. Cultivars with larger white or striped seed coats and low oil content are grown for confectionery and birds.

The discovery of cytoplasmic male sterility and fertility restoration has made it possible to produce sunflower hybrids with high oil content. Sunflower hybrids are now commercially available for cultivation

Soil Selection

The sunflower can be grown on a wide range of soils from sandy loam to black soils. It gives the best result in fertile, well-drained soil. It can tolerate slightly alkaline soil. Avoid sowing in acidic and waterlogged soil. The ideal pH of the soil should be around 6.5 to 8. Crop rotation should be followed as Rice-Sunflower, Toria-Sunflower, Cotton-sunflower, Sugarcane-sunflower and kharif-fodder - toria-sunflower.

Land Preparation

Prepare fine seed bed by carrying out two to three ploughing, followed by planking.

Sowing time

To obtain a good yield, complete sowing should be done up to January's end. In case of delayed sowing, when it is to be done in February, use the transplanting method instead of direct sowing as direct sowing causes a reduction in yield and causes high pests and diseases.

Sowing Spacing:- Use spacing of 60 cm between the rows while keeping plant to plant distance of 30 cm.

Sowing Depth:- Sow the seeds at depth of 4-5 cm.

Method of sowing

The dibbling method is used for sowing. Placing seeds on a flatbed or ridge with help of a row crop planter is also used for sunflower sowing. Use the transplanting method in case of delayed sowing. 30 sq.m of the nursery is suitable for transplanting one-acre land and Using a seed rate of 1.5 kg. Prepare the nursery 30 days before transplanting.

Mix the 0.5 kg Urea and 1.5 kg Single superphosphate to prepare the seedbed and cover the seedbed with a transparent polythene sheet and prepare the tunnel. Remove the polythene sheet after the seedling appearance. When the seedling is at 4 leaf stage, they are transplanted. Irrigate the nursery before uprooting the crop for transplanting.

SUNFLOWER VARIETIES AND SEED RATE

NK-265, SF-187, PI-6480, Hysun-33, PARC-92E, SMH-9706, SMH-0907, SMH-0917 (ناڙي پوک)          1.5 kg/acre

HO-1 (ناڙي پوک)               3 kg/ Acre

NK-265, SF-187, PI-6480, Hysun-33, PARC-92E, SMH-9706, SMH-0907, SMH-0917 (ڪريا ڇٽ کيڙ پوک)                                    2 kg/acre

HO-1 (ڪريا ڇٽ کيڙ پوک) 3.5 kg/acre

Fertilizer requirement (kg/acre)

One and a half bags of DAP, one bag of Potash and half bag of urea at the time of sowing and half bag of urea at 1st irrigation, half bag of urea at 2nd irrigation and half bag of urea at flower initiation with irrigation.

UREA            SSP               MURIATE OF POTASH

      50                75                               On-soil test results

Nutrients Value(kg/acre)

NITROGEN         PHOSPHORUS           POTASH

           24                                 12                                  #

Apply 4-5 tons of well-decomposed cow dung per acre in soil two to three weeks before sowing. Overall apply N: P@ 24:12 kg/acre in form of Urea@50kg, SSP@75kg in soil.

For an accurate dose of fertilizer do soil testing and apply doses on that basis. Apply a half dose of nitrogen and a full dose of P at the time of sowing. Apply the rest of the nitrogen 30 days after sowing. In the case of the irrigated crop, apply the remaining half dose of Nitrogen in two equal instalments, the first 30 days after sowing while remaining after 15 days.

For better vegetative growth spray water soluble 19:19:19@5gm/Ltr of water when the crop is at the 5-6 leaves stage take two sprays at eight days intervals. Spray Boron@2gm/Ltr of water at the ray floret opening stage.

Weed Control

Keep sunflower crop weed free during the first 45 days of the crop period and irrigate the crop at critical stages. Two to three weeks after sowing, a complete first weeding process is followed by a second weeding operation three weeks afterwards. To control weeds chemically, spray them with Pendimethalin@1Ltr in 150-200 Ltr per acre as pre-emergence herbicide within 2-3 days after sowing. Protect crop from lodging when the crop is 60-70 cm tall but before flowering complete earthling up operation.

Irrigation

Depending upon soil type, and weather conditions, two to three irrigations are required to crop. Apply first irrigation after one month of sowing. When the crop is at 50% flowering, the soft and hard dough stage is critical for irrigation. Water shortage during this stage leads to severe yield and weather conditions, two to three irrigations are generally the chances of root rot attacks. In case of heavy soil apply irrigation at intervals of 20-25 days and 8-10 days in case of light soil.

Diseases

Charcoal rot, Head rot, Alternaria Blight and Downy Mildew are the major diseases of Sunflower.

Yield

The crop matures in 85-100 days. The crop is to be harvested when the head turns yellow and some of the bracts dry up. The mature heads are cut with a sickle and are dried by showing the upper side with seeds to the sun. Separate the seeds from well-dried heads by beating with sticks or by the thresher. The cleaned seed is dried and stored in gunny bags. The sunflower crop gives a grain yield of 5-12 mnds per acre under rain-fed conditions and 12-18 mnds per acre when cultivated under irrigation.