![]() ![]() ![]() The sunflower is phototropic (head faces east in morning and west in evening) in its vegetative growth while most heads face east after the flowers are open. Row direction has little effect on grain yield, however, prevailing winds may tend to lodge plants if rows are planted across the wind. Planting after July 1 may result in lower grain yields if climatic conditions are not ideal. The seedling sunflower plant will tolerate lower temperatures but plant growth is very slow. This will probably occur in mid- March or early April. Soil temperatures should be 50 degrees Fahrenheit or above when the seed is planted. Key Production Requirements: Planting Dates Dwarf hybrids are often planted in narrow rows at higher populations, whereas standard height hybrids are best planted in conventional rows. The primary advantage of dwarf hybrids is lodging resistance. The dwarf sunflower seldom achieves more that 40 inches in height while standard height hybrids can exceed 6 feet if growing conditions are good. Sunflowers are of either standard height or double dwarf. Seek information from sunflower seed producers relative to hybrid selection. Experimental trials have not been recently conducted in West Central Texas to evaluate the best germplasm. In sunflower planted for food plots, it is not necessary to seek hybrid seed. Seed of these hybrids is more expensive than open pollinated sunflowers but the associated hybrid vigor generally results in higher yields. Most oil and confectionary cultivars presently available are the result of hybridization. In addition, sunflowers are grown in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. Sunflowers are presently grown from North Dakota and Minnesota south to Texas. Maturity of the crop is also hastened by photoperiod in late plantings. As maturity progresses with heat units, it takes early planted sunflowers longer to mature than later planted acreage of the same variety. Most sunflower varieties mature in 85 to 95 days. Wet, low lying fields also are slow to warm up in the spring, and usually cause seeding delays. Under wet conditions, these soils have water-logged or saturated conditions causing an oxygen deficiency which slows growth and promotes fungal seedling diseases. The fine textured soils, on the other hand, have higher water holding capacities, but the internal drainage of some of these soils is often restricted. The coarse textured soils, because of their lower water holding capacity, generally do not provide enough water for high yields, although good yields may be obtained when seasonal precipitation is adequate and the rains are uniformly distributed throughout the growing season. Soils such as the loams silt loams, clay loams, and silty clay loams usually have moderate to large water holding capacities and are not as drouthy as the sands sandy loams, and loamy sands. Under dryland farming, medium and moderately fine textured soils that have moderate to good internal drainage are better suited for sunflowers than are the coarse or the many fine textured soils. ![]() The properties of soils that influence sunflower yields include (a) water holding capacity, (b) internal drainage, (c) seedbed condition, and (d) soil fertility. Some soils consistently produce larger yields of sunflowers than other soils. Sunflowers are adapted to a wide variety of soils and climatic conditions but perform best when grown on good land and provided sound management practices. Properly managed sunflowers might yield 1000 to 1400 pounds per acre dryland, and perhaps 50% more under irrigation. Another popular use for sunflower plantings is a food plot for wild birds, mostly white winged and mourning doves. ![]() Hybrid oil types are also used in bird feed mixtures. The hybrid oil type sunflower is utilized as a source of high quality vegetable oil with the extracted meal utilized as a protein source in livestock feed. Confectionary sunflower in the large seeded white stripe sunflower which is grown for human consumption and bird feed. Sunflowers are grown in Texas for four principal marketing objectives. Warrick, Extension Agronomist (Retired) Description/Agronomic Characteristics: ![]()
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