Sunflower is an important oilseed crop cultivated worldwide. The document provides details about the botany, history, cultivation practices, pests, and breeding of sunflower. It notes that sunflower originated in North America and was introduced to Europe in the 16th century. It is now widely grown in countries like USA, Brazil, China, Argentina, Pakistan, and India for its oil, which contains healthy fats. The document outlines the plant's anatomy and describes practices like soil preparation, fertilizer use, irrigation, and harvesting. It also discusses breeding objectives like higher yields, disease resistance, and abiotic stress tolerance and different breeding methods used like introduction, mass selection, and hybridization.

1. Sunflower
By
MUHAMMAD ANAS
Roll No.250 BSc (Hon) 7th
semester
Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics
Submitted to
Prof. Dr. FARHATULLAH SIR
Acting Dean in the Faculty of Crop Production Sciences
The University of Agriculture Peshawar Pakistan

2. INTRODUCTION
Sunflowerisanimportantoil seedcropaftersoybean,anditaccountfor 12.5% of the oil productionof
the world.It oil contentrangesfrom46to 52% and isof highqualitynoncolesteral andanticolestotal
propertiesleadingsunflowercountriesare USSR,Bulgaria,Canadaand USA.
Sunflower Helianthus annuus L. 2n =2x=34
Kingdom Plantae
Class Magnoliopsida
Order Asterales
Family Asteracae
Genus Helianthus
Specie annus
Distribution:
USA, Brazil, China, Argentina, Pakistan, andIndia.
History & Origin
 Sunflowerprobablyoriginatedinthe southwesternUnitedStates,orsomewhereinMexico.
 It has beencultivatedforover8000 years.
 It was introducedtoEurope inthe 16th centuryandimportedintoRussiafromHollandinthe
18th century.
 As a cultivated plant,improvedvarietieswerereintroducedintothe USA fromRussiain1893.
History in Pakistan
 In Pakistan,sunflowerwasfirstintroducedasanoilseedcropinearly1960's.
 Its commercial cultivationbeganin1965.
 Areain PunjabisalmostinSargodha,Sialkot,Faisalabad,Gujranwala,Sheikhupura,Okara,
Sahiwal,Multan,RahimyarKhan andVehari districts.
 In Sindh,sunflowerisgrownmostlyinBadindistrict(61 percent).Otherimportantsunflower
areas inSindhare Nawabshah,Hyderabad,Thatta,Tharparkarand Sukkurdistricts.

3. Botany:
The stemis typicallyunbranchedhave strongtaprootsystem.Leavesare arrangedinopposite pairs,
inflorescence iscapitulumorheadnumbersof flowervaryfrom700 to 3000. The flowersof outerwhorl
are calledray florets.Theyhave five elongatedpetalsthatare unitedtostraplike structure.Five anthers
are unitedtofarma tube inside the anther.There isstyle terminatinginthe stigmas,whichisdivided.
The seedconsistof seedcoat endospermandembryo.Sunflowershowsthe phenomenonof
heliotropism.Inwhichthe developingheadface eastandwestinmorningand eveningrespectively.
Economic Importance
 It isone of world’smostcultivatedcashcrops.
 In world,supplyof sunflowerseedoil isestimatedas 11.7 milliontonsandsunflowerisranked
as 6th
inseedproduction.
 Accordingto economicsurveyof Pakistansunflowerisgrownon8,77,000 ha of land.
 The total amountof seedsproducedwas4,73,000 tonsand the total oil producedfromthe
sunflowercrop was1,79,000 tons.
 Sunflowerseedprice Rs.2,000per 40 Kg.
Amazing FactsaboutSunflower
Scientificname of SunflowerisHelianthus,HeliaforSunandAnthusfor Flower.
It isDrought Resistance Crop.
It isperennial Plant(thatlivesfor2 or more years)
It isnot one flower,buta clusterof more than 2000 tinyflowersgrowingtogether.
The largestSunflowerHeadevermeasuredwasThirty-two&ahalf inchesindiameter.Itwas
grownin Ontario,Canada.
The tallestsunflower9.17 m (30 ft & 1 inch) inGermanyon 28 August2014.
Sunflowersare wellknowntomove towardsthe Sun.ThisiscalledSolarTrackingor
Heliotropism.
Scientistsagree thatthe sunflowerwillnotdie outwithinthe nextcentury.
Sunflowershave rootsthatcanbe 1.5 meterintothe soil &heightrangesfrom3-5 meters.
Sunfloweristhe National Flowerof Russia.
Agricultural Practices
Soil and climate
 Sunflowerisgrowninhot& humidweatherwithrelative humidityof 50-85%.
 Sunflowercangrowindry areas too. Itgrows sandyto claysoil ranginginpH from5.7 to 8.
 Sunflowersperformwell inwelldrained,Fertile soil withgoodmoistureholdingcapacity.
 The areas of adaptionforthiscrop are incotton belt(Vehari,Lodhran,Bahawalpur,Umerkot)
and rice growingareasof SialkotandBadininPunjabandSindh,respectively.
Seed bed preparation
 Sunflowerhasawell-developedrootsystem.

4.  Deepploughingupto12-18 cm witha moldboard&followedby2-3discharrow, collectstubble
of previouscrop.
 Secondarytillage implementslikeadischarrow shouldbe usedto level the fieldforplantingand
subsequentirrigations.
 It isimportantthat the soil aroundthe seedremainmoistduringgermination.
 Thistechnique isquite importantindryrainfedareas.
Manuring & Fertilizer
 FYM applied3-4ton/acre at sowingtime.
 In Pakistan,mostof the soilsareadeficientinbothNitrogenandPhosphorusandsome areas
are alsodeficientinPotashtherefore,the requirementforN,P,Kis givenas64.22, 56.81 and
61.75 kg/harespectively.
 It isrecommended2bags of urea and2 bags of DAP peracre shouldbe applied.
 Sulphur& Baron applicationare vital forseedwt.&floweropening.
Temperature & Seed Rate
 Sunflowerisgrowninmanysemi-aridregions.
 It istolerantof both lowandhightemperatures.
 Optimumtemperaturesforgrowthare 21° to 75°F, buta widerrange of temperatures(64°to
91°F) showlittle effectonproductivity.
 Extremelyhightemperatureshave beenshowntoloweroil percentage,seedfill,and
germination.
 2-3 Kg/acre seed isrecommendeddependingonhybrid,soil type,andavailabilityof waterand
methodof sowing.
 Seedrate isreducedto 50 % if plantedwithnew planters.
Method Of Sowing
 It's bestto sowsunflowerseedsdirectintothe soil afterthe dangerof springfrostispast.
 Seedshouldbe planted3-8cm deepusingacotton drill.
 Sowingcan alsobe done bythe keramethodusinga desi plough.
 If you see birdsscratchingaroundfor the seeds,spreadnettingoverthe plantedareauntil seeds
germinate.
Sowing & Plant distance
 It ishighlyadaptable andfitverywell tothe croppingsystem.
 Early sowing: Mid dec-Midjan
 Late sowing: Janlast to Feblastweek.
 Sunflowersare arowcrop, but the row widthvariesdependinguponthe equipmentavailable.
 In irrigatedareas R×R distance forsunflowercropis75 cm and P×Pdistance is23 cm.
 In barani areas P×Pdistance isgivenas30cm.
Irrigation
 Sunflowerisconsideredasdrought-resistant,butsignificantresistance inthe yieldhasbeen
observeddue towaterstress.
 Generally,the springcroprequiresfourirrigations.

5.  In Kharif season:5-6 Irrigations(8to 9 daysinterval).
 In Summer:8-9 Irrigations(7-8days interval)
Reproduction of Sunflower
 Pollination:Processbywhichplantpollenistransferredfrommale reproductive organstothe
female reproductive organstoformseeds.
 Reproduce throughSeeds
 Beesare primarypollinatingagents
 Otherpollinatingagentsare insects(Moths)
 Reproductioncanbe done as Asexual.
 The pollencontainsspermthatfertilizeseggsinfemale partsof the plant.
Varieties
 ‘BlackSayar’ wastestedin1964-1965.
 The exoticcultivarsrecommendedforcultivationwere‘Noor’,‘Shams’and‘Ho-1’in1977.
 ‘Nk-212’ ‘Husun-33’,and‘NK-265’ were releasedforcommercial cultivation,1979 and 1986,
respectively.
 ‘Euroflor’anewhybridisyielding234 kgseeds/ha.
 Pioneer-6480,Poiner-64,NK-278,SH-3322, CRN-1435, IS-3312 alsoitsvarieties.
Insect, pest& Weeds
INSECTAND PEST
 BandedSunflowerMoth
 Cut Worms
 SunflowerBeetle
 HeadclipperWeevil
WEEDS
 Kochia
 RedrootPigweed
 Biennial Wormwood
Diseases Of Sunflower
i. AlternariaBlight
ii. Headrot
iii. Charcoal Rot
iv. Basal Rot
v. Downymildew
vi. Mosaic
vii. Sclerotial wilt
viii. Powderymildew
ix. Rust

6. Harvesting
 For indoorbouquets,cutthe mainstemjustbefore itsflowerbudhas a chance to opento
encourage side blooms.
 Cut stemsearlyinthe morning.Harvestingflowersduringmiddleof the daymayleadto flower
wilting.
 Cut the headoff the plantand remove the seedswithyourfingersorafork.
 To harvestseeds,keepaneye outforripeness.
Yield
 The average national seedyieldinall typesof soilsandconditionsvariesfrom500-980 kg/ha.
 However,underthe favorable conditionsseedyieldsashighas2500 kg/hahave beenobtained.
 Under the rainfedconditionsthe seedyieldvariesfrom400-800 kg/ha.
Storage
Storage of sunflowerrequiresspecialcare.
The seedshouldbe drieddownupto moisture content8-10% afterharvesting.
Sunflowermaintainsisviabilitylongerthansmall seedsunderall conditions.
Storage binsshouldbe cleanedandtreatedwithinsecticidesinordertoavoidinsectattack.
To protectthe seedsfrombirds,youcancover the flowerswithalightfabricsuchas
cheeseclothandarubberband.
Floral Biology andHybridization Technique:
Sunflowerishighlycross-pollinatedcropmainlythroughinsectandto a limitedextentbywind.The
floweropeningstartsfromouterside of the headand proceedtowardsthe centerof the headbloom
within5 to 10 days,dependinguponsize andseason.Anthersoccur5 to 8 a.m. the pollenremainviable
for 12 hoursand stigmaremainreceptive for2to 3 days.
Emasculation:
A) Hand Emasculation:
Remainingthe anthertube withforcepsearlyinthe morningdoesit.Unemascualtedflowerare
removed.
B) Without Emasculation:
Sometimesthe crossingisdone withoutemasculationhybridplantsare distinguishedfrom
selfedone onthe basisof vigoror presence of some marketgenes.
C) Chemical Emasculation:
Applicationof Gibberellicacid(100ppm) afterbud ignitionforthree daysinthe morninggivesbetter
resultsof emasculation.
Breeding Objective:
1. Highseedyield
2. Lodgingresistance,dwarf planttype
3. Highoil content
4. Early maturity
5. Tolerantto stresscondition

7. 6. Resistance tobirddamage
7. Resistance todisease- leaf rot,rootrot,stemrot, powderymildew.
8. Resistance toinsectpestleaf eatingcaterpillar,grasshopper,Jassids,etc
Breeding Methods:
Sunflowerishighlycross-pollinatedcrop.
1. Introduction-
Introducedformdifferentarea.
2. Mass Selection:
In thismethodphenotypicallysuperiorplantsare selectedandharvestedfromapopulationandtheir
seedsare mixedtocontinue newvariety- modern.
i. phenotypicallysuperiorplantsare selectedandharvestedfromapopulationand
ii. theirseedsare mixedtocontinue new variety- modern.
3. Hybridization:
Currentlythere isincreasedemphasisindevelopmentof sunflowerhybrid. For productionof
hybridseedcytoplasmicgeneticmale sterile linesare used.
4. Resistance Breeding
importantstepfor controllingdisease like rust, alternaria, leaf spotandvariousroot andstem rot
caused by Sclerotum, Rhizoctonia.
Several wild species have resistantgenes for these - as donorparent todevelop resistantvarieties
by back cross breeding.