|
Location
|
Open sunny sites away from overhead lines and trees if possible. Minimum field size 4 ha. |
|
Rotation
|
Best after cereals or fallow |
|
Soil type
|
Almost any but well drained loam best. Optimum pH 6 7.5 |
|
Preparation |
Well cultivated, fine seed bed, no compaction |
|
Fertiliser
|
50kg/ha N @ index 0, maintenance applications of P & K incorporated into seed bed |
|
Herbicides
|
Glyphosate in winter, Treflan pre drilling or Stomp pre emergence, if required |
|
Sowing date
|
Mid April to early May, depending on cultivar |
|
Sowing rate |
Between 90 000 - 150 000 plants /ha
|
|
Row width
|
25 - 50 cm
|
|
Drilling |
Drill into a moist seed bed using a drill that can produce an evenly distributed plant population |
|
Weed control |
Mechanical hoeing post emergence if row width allows |
|
Disease control
|
None |
|
Pest control |
Slug pellets at drilling |
|
Harvest |
Any suitably modified combine |
Basic guidelines for growing sunflowers in the UK