Latest Management Tips for the Bud Stage of Sunflowers
The sunflower is a rather special type of flower, being both an oil crop and one of the major food crops. Its seeds are the sunflower seeds most commonly seen in our daily lives, and as market demand has grown, the area planted with sunflowers in China has also become larger and larger. Sunflowers go through different growth stages, and each stage requires different management methods. Today, we bring you the management tips for the bud stage of sunflowers. Let's take a look!
1. Timely topdressing
Sunflowers have a fairly high demand for nutrients during growth. If they rely only on base fertilizer and seed fertilizer, that is far from enough for their growth. Therefore, timely topdressing is a key measure to ensure normal sunflower growth and increase yield. The nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium requirements of sunflower buds reach 1/3 of the total, so we should topdress in time before the bud stage. If fertilization is too late, the fertilizer effect will drop markedly. When topdressing, nitrogen fertilizer should be the main type, and attention should be paid to the application position so as not to damage the sunflower roots and cause fertilizer damage. In the later period, nitrogen fertilizer should be stopped to prevent excessive vegetative growth, which can lead to reduced yield and lower oil content.
2. Reasonable watering
Sunflowers also have a fairly high water demand. During the bud stage, their water requirement reaches almost half or more of the entire growth period. During the flower disc formation period, we should water reasonably according to weather changes, soil moisture conditions and the growth of the sunflowers. This ensures that both yield and oil content can be increased. When watering, furrow irrigation should be the main method; do not use flood irrigation, to prevent excessive water from causing waterlogging damage to the sunflowers and affecting nutrient uptake by the roots. After watering, carry out intertillage and loosening of the soil to avoid soil compaction and reduce water evaporation.
3. Timely removal of side shoots
Timely removal of side shoots is very important for sunflower growth, because if there are too many branches and they are not removed in time, they will consume excessive nutrients. This leads to insufficient nutrients in the flower disc, preventing it from expanding, reducing yield and affecting quality. Therefore, in order to concentrate nutrients in the flower disc and promote its expansion and full grain development, we must do a good job of removing side shoots. Try to remove them as early as possible and do it thoroughly and completely. During the entire bud stage, side shoots should be removed at least about twice. At the very least, there should be no branches or side shoots on the sunflower plant.
4. Artificial pollination
Sunflowers are cross-pollinated plants. During the pollination period, pollination is mainly carried out by bees and various insects. Therefore, when growing sunflowers, bees should be kept appropriately, or work to attract bees should be done when the pollination time arrives. If there are no bees, then artificial pollination is needed: use a piece of tin foil larger than the flower disc, pad it with cotton, then place it on the flower disc and rub it, then pat it onto another flower disc, continuing until all are done. You can also take two adjacent flower discs and gently pat and rub them “face to face”. Pollination should be carried out at around 10 o'clock each day, or after 3 p.m. Artificial pollination can increase the success rate of pollination, reduce the rate of empty and shriveled seeds, enhance grain fullness and increase yield.
The above is a brief introduction to the management tips for the bud stage of sunflowers. Management during the bud stage is very important for sunflower growth. Because management work during this period directly affects the grain quality and yield of sunflowers, everyone must do a good job of management to protect their planting returns. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Friends who want to learn more related information, please continue to follow us!