The Latest Technical Methods and Tutorial for Sunflower Field Management

The flower language of the sunflower is faith, radiance, pride, and loyalty. It chases the sunlight and has its own unique charm, and it is also very common in our daily lives. Products such as sunflower oil and sunflower seeds found in shopping malls are all products of the sunflower. Large fields of sunflowers are also a very beautiful sight, so when growing sunflowers, how do we carry out field management to improve their yield and quality? Let us take a look together below.

1. Intertillage and Weeding

After the sunflowers have been planted and survived, in order to promote their growth, we need to frequently carry out intertillage and weeding, because weeds are extremely harmful to them. During the sunflower's growth period, generally three rounds of intertillage and weeding are needed. At the same time, pay attention to the depth of the intertillage: it must not damage the roots, but it must also maintain the permeability of the soil. The first intertillage is generally carried out within one week after the plants have survived transplanting, the second is generally in the early stage of seedling growth, and the third is carried out before the rows close over.

2. Water and Fertilizer Management

During the entire growth period of the sunflower, the time of greatest water demand is at the bud stage, when its water requirement can account for half of the total water amount. Also, during this period it absolutely must not lack water, otherwise the yield and quality of the sunflower will be severely damaged. Next, during the period from flowering to maturity, the sunflower's demand for water is also relatively large, so the soil must be kept moist. In the early stage of sunflower growth, we mainly use nitrogen fertilizer, and after it flowers, we mainly use potassium fertilizer, combined with foliar fertilizer. Of course, it also needs to be used together with micro-fertilizers such as boron fertilizer and zinc fertilizer, so that the effect of topdressing is better.

3. Branch and Leaf Management

Some varieties of sunflower will develop branches when they grow to a certain extent, which increases the sunflower's water demand and nutrient consumption, so we need to remove them in time. But one thing to note is that this must be done as early as possible; you cannot wait until they are large to remove them, as this will increase the damage to the plant. Finally, we also need to remove the old leaves, dead leaves, and diseased leaves at the bottom of the sunflower plant, which can improve field ventilation and light penetration, reduce nutrient consumption, and also avoid pests and diseases.

4. Assisted Pollination

In order to increase the seed-setting rate of sunflowers and improve the pollination success rate and yield of sunflowers, we also need to carry out artificial assisted pollination when necessary. First, we can carry out pollination by artificially releasing bees, arranging the bee colonies scientifically. Second, we can use the method of dividing and collecting, then carrying out contact pollination. When pollinating, note that it is best to do it between nine in the morning and before eleven in the morning. If the planting area is too large and pollination is not completed in the morning, then you need to wait until after three in the afternoon to continue; the midday period is not suitable for pollination, and the success rate is extremely low.

5. Pest and Disease Control

The management of pests and diseases is also something worth our attention during the sunflower planting process. Among them, the main diseases are rust and sclerotinia, which harm sunflowers. We can use mancozeb wettable powder plus triadimefon wettable powder, and thiophanate-methyl wettable powder, respectively, for control, and at least two sprays are needed, generally once every ten days or so. Also, pay attention to the harm to sunflowers from pests such as beetles, scarab beetles, cotton bollworms, and stem borers, which can be controlled using trichlorfon crystals or pyrethroid insecticides.

Sunflower field management work is actually very simple; we just need to follow the management process above and it will basically be about right. Due to the editor's limited energy, some of the content is introduced rather simply, but if you need anything, you can leave a message for the editor for consultation.