Faisalabad: The agriculture department has rolled out a fresh set of field-level recommendations for sunflower growers by focusing on modern sowing techniques, precise spacing and balanced fertilizer use to help farmers maximize yields and reduce input losses.
A spokesman of agriculture (extension) department said here on Thursday that sunflower should be planted on ridges in well-defined rows using a planter or drill for uniform growth and better crop management.
He advised the farmers to maintain a row-to-row distance of two-and-half feet while plant-to-plant spacing should be around nine inches in irrigated areas to ensure proper nutrient uptake and sunlight exposure.
He cleared sowing deadlines and urged the farmers in southern and central Punjab to complete sunflower planting by January 31 while the growers in northern districts have been given time until February 15.
To ensure strong crop establishment, he recommended the use of clean, healthy, double-gene hybrid seed at a rate of two kilograms per acre with germination capacity exceeding 90 percent.
He said that fertilizer application should be adjusted according to soil fertility. For weaker soils, the farmers should apply one and three-quarter bags of DAP and one bag of SOP per acre at sowing while average fertile land requires one and half bags of DAP along with one bag of SOP.
He said that proper irrigation schedule is also imperative and first watering should be applied 20 days after germination and the second should be made 20 days after the first irrigation.
Timely adoption of these practices would not only improve sunflower productivity but also contribute to higher domestic oilseed output in addition to help reduce dependence on imported edible oil, he added.