Sunflower

Helianthus annuus
 Origin , Distribution and Importance
 Sunflowers originated and domesticated in the America.
 In the 16th century the first crop breeds were brought from America to Europe
by explorers.
 World production and consumption is concentrated primarily in three countries
viz., Ukraine, Russia and EU.
 Sunflower ranges second after soybean as an oil crop in the world.
 It is a short duration crop and is not affected by light duration and temperature.
 Plant is about 5-20 ft tall and straight with 2.5-7.5 cm diameter. The flower is
brown ,round and 15-30 cm diameter .
 One flower can produce 350-2000 seeds depending upon variety.
 In south Asian region ,India is the biggest sunflower producer and consumer of
sunflower products.
 In Nepal, sunflower is one of the major oilseed crop after mustard and soybean
along with other oilseed crops.
 The cultivated area of oilseed in Nepal about is 7994 hac with 16891 mt of
production with 2.1 t/hac productivity (MOAD, 2073/74) .
 Uses of
Sunflower
 Seed contains good percentage of oil (48-53),
protein (14-19), crude fiber (16-27), ash (2-3),
soluble sugar (7-9) and hull (21-27).
 Oil is used for production of ghee and vegetable
ghee while oil cake contains 40-44 % protein, N 4.9%
phosphorus 1.4%, potash 1.2% and used for animal
feed.
 Raw seeds , seed oil, oil cake for different human
consumption .
Sunflower Oil
Biological Classification
 Climatic and Soil Requirement/
Land Preparation
 Day Neutral Plant
 Can be grown throughout the year considering the disease pest incidence
and harsh weather
 Susceptible to frost
 Most suitable temperature for growth 20 – 25 0C
 Can be grown in wide range of soils
 Sandy loam to clay loam rich in organic matter and with pH value of 6.0-
8.0 are suitable for sunflower cultivation
 Sandy and water-logged soils are not desirable for sunflower production
due to its low salt tolerance characteristics
 Sunflower has a well-developed root system, deep ploughing with a
moldboard plough is necessary. Deep ploughing is necessary to break the
hard pan in rice cultivated lands.
 Seed Sowing and seed rate
Time of Sowing:
Timely sowing of sunflower is necessary to get more yield. In case of late sowing, oil
content decreases and yield losses occur.
Sunflower mostly grown in two seasons: spring and summer.
Spring sunflower crop:
Poush- Magh/Falgun
Summer sunflower crop:
Asar - Shrawan

Seed rate : 7-10 kg /hac

Spacing : 45cm *30 cm
Fertilizer & Nutrient management
 FYM @ 4-6 mt/hac
 60:40:20 kg NPK/hac ( Krishi Diary)
 Irrigation of field is done 3-4 days prior to
sowing to ensure sufficient moisture in the soil
for good germination
 Variety of Sunflower
 modern hybrid
Irrigation and Weed Management
 Prior to sowing
 The most critical periods for irrigation in sunflower are bud
(button) stage, flowering and grain formation stages. If the
crop experience moisture stress at these stages the no. of ill
filled grain flower will be increased.
 Under limited water conditions provide irrigations at
bud stage and grain formation stage.
 Thinning at 30 DAS to keep one selected sunflower per hill.
 Two manual weeding and earthing up
 Thinning followed by first manual weeding at 30 DAS and
earthing up at 60 DAS
 Harvesting /Yield/Storage
 physiological maturity stage when the stalks began to
get dried and the back portion of flower got yellow
and brown in color and sun dry for 2 days.
 Threshing done manually with the help of sticks and
 seeds cleaned and dried
Yield : 1.5-2 t/hac
 Disease and Pest
• Downy mildew
• Powder Mildew
• Verticillium wilt
• Sclerotinia stalk and head rot

• Soyabean hairy caterpillar

• Army worm
Research Papers