How to grow sunflower

FARMING | SUNFLOWER | OKELLO 

KWANIA - Ketty Okello Otim, 68, is a sunflower farmer in Kwania district. In 2016, she cultivated sunflower on four acres and harvested 5,500kg.

According to Okello, she harvests 1,400-1,500 kg of sunflower seeds per acre every season, earning about sh6m. Sunflower is planted twice a year.

“I got my first seedlings from Lira district and it is called Agsun-8251 sunflower. They have bigger heads and produce more seeds. Their seeds have a small surface area hence more mass.,” says Okello.

 “I do not use a tape measure for spacing. I just estimate the spacing,” Okello says.

This means that every acre takes about 20kg of seeds.

Okello advises that sunflower seeds must be purchased only from commercial seed companies. (Credit: Umar Nsubuga)

Over the years, through research, workshops and lessons from established sunflower farmers in the region and experts from FAO; Okello has learnt about the best varieties and practices, improving her returns.

Sunflower is one of the few promising cash crops because of the ready market with milling companies in this country but the farmers lack proper knowledge on how, to grow it.

Correct variety selection is extremely important for top yields. Producers should ask companies that sell sunflower seeds for performance tests result when selecting a variety to plant.

Sunflower seeds must be purchased only from commercial seed companies.

Seed rate

Buy 1.5kg for 1 acre or 3.75kg for hectare. Remember, 1ha=2.5acre. A kilo of hybrid sunflower seeds goes for between sh19,000 to sh23,000 depending on the variety.

Land preparation

Gideon Zaake an agronomist says seedbed preparation involves creating an environment that allows seed germination and plant emergence to progress uniformly and rapidly.

A moist, frim seedbed, free of weeds, is desirable. Plough twice before using a tractor or animal traction, but hand hoe also can work as is the case.

Sunflower seeds should be planted into moist soil about two inches deep, at spacing of 75cm by 30cm between row and plants.

Zaake says, putting two seeds per hole, but remove one two weeks after germination, leaving only one plant per hill. Good planting procedures provide optimum seedling establishment.

Fertilisers     

It would be good to do soil tests but very few people know about soil testing or don’t care. It is therefore hard to know which nutrient is lacking in farm land.

So we recommend planting with 30/50kg/care of DAP fertiliser. Excessive nitrogen can contribute to decreased oil content in the seed.

Harvesting and storage

Sunflower should be harvested when ready, to minimise losses from bird damage and diseases.