FAISALABAD:The agriculture experts have advised the farmers to start cultivation of sunflower crops immediately and complete it by mid of February for getting bumper production.
According to a spokesman of the Agriculture (Extension) Department, sunflower is an important crop which could help Pakistan to trim its import bill of edible oil in addition to mitigate financial constraints of the growers as it has attractive market value. Therefore, the farmers should bring maximum land under cultivation of this cash crop and use seed of its approved hybrid varieties including Hi-Sun-33, T-40318, Agora-4, S-278, Orisun-516, Orisun-675, Orisun-701, Orisun-7, etc. whereas the government would also provide subsidy of Rs.5000 per acre on sunflower crop to registered farmers besides facilitating such growers with 50 percent subsidy in purchase of agri appliances.
He said that the farmers should prefer to cultivate sunflower instead of wheat crops after harvesting sugarcane produce.
Timely cultivation of crop would also help proper growth of plants as well as grains which would reciprocally enhance per acre yield. Therefore, the growers should immediately start sunflower cultivation and complete it up to mid February at all cost.
He further said that growers of Multan, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Vehari and Bahawal Nagar districts could cultivate sunflower crops up to January 31 whereas most suitable time for sunflower cultivation in Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffar Garh, Lodhran, Layyah, Rajan Pur and Bhakkar was from January 10 to February 10.
Similarly, farmers of Faisalabad, Jhang, Sahiwal, Mianwali, Sargodha, Lahore, Mandi Bahauddin, Khushab, Okara, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Kasur, Narowal, Attock, Gujrat and Chakwal should cultivate sunflower crops from January 25 to February 15, he added.