How to Plant Sunflower Seeds? Detailed Sowing Methods and Steps

Before sowing sunflowers, choose a suitable plot for planting, then soak the selected seeds in warm water, and sow once they have sprouted. The sowing time is determined by the growth period of the variety, mainly spring or summer sowing, and the sowing method can be manual or mechanical bed preparation, with dibbling or furrow drilling.

After sowing sunflower seeds, pay attention to field management:

1. Inspect the field and fill in missing seedlings

The sunflower is a dicotyledonous crop, and its seedlings struggle to push through the soil. Combined with poor land preparation, poor sowing quality, surface soil crusting after rain, or damage from diseases, insects, rodents, birds and other pests, this easily causes missing seedlings and gaps in the rows. To ensure full seedlings from one sowing, you must inspect the field row by row during the emergence stage; if there are patches or rows of missing seedlings, replant promptly, soaking the seeds to sprout until they show white before replanting. Where few seedlings are missing, transplant from dense areas to thin ones, moving seedlings with soil (pay attention to the sunny orientation of the seedlings), and water them well to settle the roots; the survival rate can generally reach over 95%.

2. Thinning and final thinning

Thin the seedlings early to prevent them from crowding each other, which affects the cultivation of strong seedlings and even later yield. According to trials: thinning early at 1 pair of true leaves and final thinning at 2-3 pairs of true leaves gives each flower head 1200-1500 florets, which is 200-300 more florets per flower head than thinning and final thinning after 3 pairs of true leaves, with yield higher by 19%-26%. Up to

3. Cultivation and weeding

Cultivate 2—3 times during the whole growth period. The 1st cultivation is done at 1—2 pairs of true leaves together with thinning and final thinning, the 2nd cultivation is done 1 week after final thinning, and the 3rd cultivation is completed before the rows close.

4. Furrow opening and topdressing

At the 3rd cultivation, furrow opening and topdressing are also needed, mainly with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers. Apply 5 kg of diammonium phosphate and 10 kg of urea per 667 sq m, mix evenly and apply to the soil. Through furrow opening and earthing up, ensure the growth and development of secondary roots, prevent lodging, and reduce basal branching below the cotyledon node.

5. Irrigation

Using the furrow irrigation method and reducing the amount of water per irrigation can effectively prevent lodging. Appropriate irrigation should be carried out at the bud stage, 4-5 days before flowering, and during the grain-filling stage.

In addition, during the management period, attention should also be paid to manual pollination and drought prevention and resistance; the seeds can be harvested when the outer ray florets open.