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Growth and Development of Irrigated Sunflower in the Texas High Plains 1
Author(s) -
Unger Paul W.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1986.00021962007800030024x
Subject(s) - sunflower , sowing , helianthus annuus , agronomy , loam , crop , yield (engineering) , sunflower oil , helianthus , biology , environmental science , soil water , ecology , biochemistry , materials science , metallurgy
Sunflower ( Helianthus annuus L.) is widely adapted in the USA. In the southern Great Plains, it has been planted from March to August, but time of planting affected its growth, yield, and quality. Objectives of this study, conducted on Pullman clay loam (Torrertic Paleustolls), were to determine the effect of planting dates and associated environmental factors on sunflower growth, development, yield, quality, and water use. A better understanding of these effects could lead to improved management of this crop. The sunflower was planted from late March to late July in 1980 and 1981. For each planting, sunflower growth, development, yield, and quality were determined and related to environmental factors by simple correlation and multiple regression analyses. Sunflower planted from early April to early June yielded more than earlier‐ or later‐planted sunflower. Values for most other sunflower variables either increased or decreased progressively from the first to the last planting. Early planted sunflower developed slower and used more water than later‐planted sunflower. Planting after early June also resulted in low water use efficiencies because of lower yields. Consequently, early and late plantings are not recommended because they resulted in lower water use efficiency than sunflower planted from April to early June. Oil concentration of seed decreased with later plantings, which resulted in lower total oil production. Based on this study, sunflower in the Texas High Plains should be planted from about mid‐April to early June to use water efficiently and to obtain favorable yields of seed having a high oil concentration.