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Sunflower Nutrition and Fertilisation
Plan your sunflower fertiliser application
Help your yield performs its best
With its unique taproot, sunflowers are capable of mining the soil to reach water and nutrients at depth but like any crop the right fertilisation will help your field perform its best.
Needs Understanding
To achieve top yields in your sunflower crop it is important to understand the needs of the crop. Fertiliser applications should be made based on a soil test, to prevent improper application causing crop damage and, or yield loss. Placement of the fertiliser is also important to prevent damage to the seedling.
Nitrogen Recommendations
Nitrogen is an indispensable element which must be used with care when growing sunflowers
- Sunflowers needs 4 to 4.5 kg of absorbed nitrogen per quintal produced
- Over fertilising by 50 units means losing 50€/ha
- Under fertilising can cause losses of 4 to 6 q/ha
- Consequences of over application of nitrogen (excess)
- Lush growth
- Development of diseases (sclerotinia, phomopsis)
- Maturity is delayed
- Consequences of nitrogen deficiencies
- Yield loss due to a reduction in achenes per capitulum
- Yield loss due to reduced photosynthesis activity
| Azote (N) | Azote (N) | |
|---|---|---|
| Yield objective | 25 q/ha | 40 q/ha |
| Topsoil poor in OM (<1,5%) | 40 – 80 | Over 90 |
| Soil moderately fertile (% MO >2% and <5%) | Less than 40 | 60 – 90 |
| Fertile soil rich in OM (>5%) | 0 | Less than 40 |
More about sunflower
Phospho-potassic Application
Phospho-potassic recommendations are based on your yield targets.
- For a yield objective of 40 q/ha, the sunflower requires little phosphorus (40 units) a moderate amount of potash (40 to 60 units). Management of these mineral elements is based on multi-year soil analyses.
- Over 80% of the phosphorus and potash used by the plant come from the soil’s reserves.
| Phosphorous (P205) | Phosphorous (P205) | Potash (K20) | Potash (K20) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yield objective | 25 q/ha | 40 q/ha | 25 q/ha | 40 q/ha |
| Poor soil | 40 | 60 – 80 | 40 | 60 – 80 |
| Well-supplied soil | 30 | 40 – 50 | 30 | 40 – 50 |
| Very well-supplied soil | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Our local teams visit farms and distributors on-site to give you the best advice for your location. Find your local MAS Seeds® consultant by visiting a country website or fill out our contact form here.
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