Sunflowers

Sunflower variety 'Mammoth' was used with a seeding rate of 25,000 seeds/ac (first planting was 15,000 seeds/ac but was replanted due to poor stand). Conventional tillage was used on all sunflower plots. Keep reading below for more information about planting sunflowers as a double crop following small grains harvest.

In 2022-2023, field experiments were established to study sunflowers’ viability as a double crop after wheat or barley harvest in Ohio (Figure 2).

The study had three commercial high oleic sunflower varieties: “ultra-early” maturity (N4H161 CL), “early” maturity (N4H302 E), and “mid-early” maturity (CP 455 E). These varieties were studied across three seeding rates: 17,000 seeds per Acre, 22,000 seeds per Acre, and 27,000 seeds per Acre. Preliminary results showed sunflower yields ranging between 1,012 lbs./Ac and 2,740 lbs./Ac (Table 3). The average yields per site were in the 1,400 to 1,900 lbs./Ac range, with the two highest yield sites being comparable to the average U.S. sunflower seed yields in the past two years.

From the preliminary results on the sunflower work, crop production challenges have included weather, equipment availability, bird damage, plant lodging, and variable/low stand counts which have possibly limiting crop yields. This project is in progress and was planted again in 2024, more results are forthcoming. Future considerations for sunflowers should include consistency of results across sites/years, variety selection, seeding rate, germination, fertility, bird control, seed/oil quality, and marketing options as major priorities.

Questions? Contact Dr. Osler Ortez at ortez.5@osu.edu.