Double Crop Sunflower in Ohio, is it an Option?

By Osler Ortez and James Jasinski et.al

In addition to double cropping with forages and double cropping with wheat and soybean, other alternatives may become feasible within the crop system. In 2022, three field experiments were established to study sunflowers’ viability as a double crop after wheat or barley harvest in Ohio. The study had three Perdue commercial high oleic sunflower varieties:

• Ultra-early maturity (N4H161 CL)
• Early maturity (N4H302 E)
• Mid-early maturity (CP 455 E)

These varieties were studied across three seeding rates: 17,000 seeds per Acre, 22,000 seeds per Acre, and 27,000 seeds per Acre.

All sites were harvested using a small plot combine with corn head; yield results are presented in Table 1. Harvest was delayed at the Wooster site due to equipment availability and weather conditions. At Northwest, 90 lbs of nitrogen per Acre were applied using Urea on August 2^nd. At Western Station, 75 lbs of nitrogen per Acre were applied as side dress of 28-0-0 on August 1^st — no nitrogen application at the Wooster site. Weeds were managed with pre and post-emergence applications as needed.

Table 1. Study locations, planting dates, harvest dates, and double crop sunflower yields expressed in pounds per Acre (lbs/Ac) at 10% moisture.

Preliminary results showed that stand establishment varied across the three varieties and sites; low germination percentages led to lower stand counts and possibly limited crop yields. Other challenges included equipment availability (especially for harvest), harvest losses (due to shattering), bird damage (estimated 10 to 50% in one of the sites), and plant lodging in some plots. Additionally, there was evidence of a “head rot” disease at the Western location. Preliminary work to identify the pathogen suggests it is a fungus in the Alternaria genus known to infect sunflowers in other states.

Future work should address the consistency of results across sites/years as a double crop, variety selection and seeding rates as a full-season crop, low germination concerns, fertility management, bird control, seed/oil quality, pest/disease management, economics, and marketing. The team plans to repeat this project in 2023; stay tuned for more results. If there are questions and/or suggestions, please contact any team member on the project.