agriculture review
by aditya abhishek
Sunflower is an oilseed crop and is a major source of vegetable oil in the world due to which the commercial production of sunflower started in 1972. To get higher yield read till the end.
Sunflower crop can be cultivated on wide range of soils, from sandy loam to heavy clayey soil, but it can not withstand waterlogging. Soil pH should be 6.0 to 7.5.
Warm temperate climate with optimum temperature range of 21 to 26 degrees Celsius is good. Annual rainfall of 500 to 750 mm is required to cultivate sunflower.
For normal or local variety seed rate of 8 Kilograms per hectare and for hybrid variety seed rate of 5 Kilograms per hectare is required.
Soak seeds in water (14 hours), dry under shade, treat with beejamrit, sow in line using seed drill at 5 cms. depth. Maintain 70 cms. spacing row to row & 20 cms. between plant.
Apply 10 tonnes of FYM per hectare every year. 90 Kilograms Phosphorus, 60 Kilograms Nitrogen, and potassium for 1 hectare sunflower farm.
Irrigation mainly depends on soil type, local climate, etc. Irrigate immediately after sowing, then irrigate after every 7 to 14 days.
It will take around 90 to 120 days for sunflower crop to get ready for harvesting, when back of the head turns from green to lemon yellow color and the bottom leaves starts drying.
If you follow all these points correctly, then you can get average yield of 2.5 tonnes per hectare.
thanks for reading!