SUFFERING from chronic shortage, the country is the third largest importer of edible oil in the world. Its imports have steadily increased from 0.3 million tones to two million tones over the last two decades, with domestic production stagnant at about 0.56 million tones. Huge import of vegetable oil is a burden on the national exchequer.

It is time to reduce import of edible oil by increasing domestic production.

Edible oil either comes from conventional (rapeseed, mustard, groundnut, sesame, linseed and cotton etc.) or non-conventional (soybean, safflower and sunflower) crops. Rapeseed and mustard are major winter crops and contribute about 10-13 per cent to the domestic edible oil production. But oil extracted from rapeseed and mustard is not a regular cooking oil due to higher concentration of erucic acid and glucosionlates and, therefore, cannot be used more than five per cent in oil blending for ghee manufacturing.

Except for cottonseed, the traditional oilseeds are grown on marginal lands. That is why the gap between local production and consumption of edible oil is widening. Among the non-conventional oilseed crops, sunflower has the potential to narrow the existing gap between production and consumption. Sunflower can yield up to 3,000 kg/ha. However, the average yield is 1,400 kg/ha. Sunflower is a short duration crop (90-110 days) and can be grown twice a year. It fits in our cropping system and can be grown without causing displacement of any major crop.

Sunflower, as an oil seed crop, was introduced here during 1960’s. The area under cultivation during 2006-07 was 9,37,000 acres producing 6,56,000 tons of sunflower seeds with an average production of 700kg/acre. At present, only 30 per cent of the total edible oil demand is being met indigenously while the remaining 70 per cent is being imported at a cost of Rs50 billions annually. Steps need to be promptly taken to remedy the situation..

Commercially available varieties of sunflower seed contain 39 to 49 per cent oil. Sunflower seed is the third largest source of vegetable oil worldwide, following soybean and palm. The oil accounts for 80 per cent of the value of sunflower crop, as contrasted with soybean which derives most of its value from the meal.

Sunflower oil is generally considered a premium oil because of its light colour, high level of unsaturated fatty acids and lack of linolenic acid, bland flavour and high smoke points. The primary fatty acids in the oil are oleic and linoleic (typically 90 per cent unsaturated fatty acids), with the remainder consisting of palmitic and stearic saturated fatty acids. The primary use is as salad and cooking oil or in margarine.

Sunflower meal has been substituted successfully for soybean meal in iso-nitrogenous (equal protein) diets for animals and for poultry feeding. Sunflower meal is higher in fibre, has a lower energy value and is lower in lysine but higher in methionine than soybean meal. Protein percentage of sunflower meal ranges from 28 per cent for non-dehulled seeds to 42 per cent for completely dehulled seeds. The colour of the meal ranges from grey to black, depending upon extraction processes and degree of dehulling.

Sunflower can also be used as a silage crop. It can be used as a double crop after early harvested small grains or vegetables, an emergency crop, or in areas with a season too short to produce mature corn for silage.

Sunflower crop can perform well under various climatic and soil conditions.

It can be grown in two seasons--spring and fall--due to its wide range of adaptability. In spring, the crop is sown under low temperature of January and February. It grows vegetatively under a range of low to medium temperature of February and March before entering the reproductive stage. The reproductive stage unfolds under high temperature of May while maturation and harvest take place under high temperature of June and July.

The fall crop is sown at high temperature and humidity conditions of July-August. It germinates and grows vegetatively during high to medium temperature of August and September before entering the reproductive stage. The reproductive phase of the fall crop unfolds at medium temperature of October. The crop matures and is harvested under low temperatures of November. So, two opposite sets of environmental conditions prevail from germination to maturity of sunflower when it is grown in two seasons.

The overall length of sunflower lifecycle is affected accordingly. Germination and vegetative stage of the spring crop take a relatively long time due to lower temperature as compared with the fall crop where these stages take place under high temperatures, taking less time and completing the life cycle in a short period of time. Sunflowers being grown in opposite environmental conditions, all development phases are affected accordingly.

Several tillage systems have been used with some success in specific environments. Major considerations are: 1) firm placement of seed near moist soil, 2) absence of green vegetation during emergence, 3) maintaining an option to cultivate and 4) reduce the risk of soil erosion.

As a crop, sunflower yields are reduced, but rarely eliminated by weeds. Sunflower is a strong competitor with weeds, especially for light, but does not cover the ground early enough to prevent weed establishment. Therefore, early season weed control is essential for good yields. Successful weed control should include a combination of cultural and chemical methods.

The most serious diseases of sunflower are caused by fungi. The major diseases include rust, downy mildew, verticillium wilt, sclerotinia stalk and head rot, phoma black stem and leaf spot. The severity of these disease on total crop yield might be ranked: 1) sclerotinia, 2) verticillium, 3) rust (recently more severe), 4) phoma, and 5) downy mildew. Resistance to rust, downy mildew, and verticillium wilt has been incorporated into improved sunflower germplasm.

Bees are beneficial to sunflower yield because they carry pollen from plant to plant resulting in cross pollination. Some sunflower varieties will not produce highest yields unless pollinators are present. Auto-gamous sunflower hybrids do not require bees for maximum yield and will yield the same when covered by bags as uncovered.

Insect pests have become major potential yield-reducing factors in sunflower production. Insects specific to sunflower that feed on heads include the larvae of three moths; sunflower moth, banded sunflower moth and sunflower bud moth. Sunflower midge has caused widespread damage in some years.

Sunflowers are generally mature long before they are dry enough for combining. Seed maturity occurs when the backs of the heads are yellow, but the fleshy sunflower head takes a long time to dry. Often, there are only a few good combining days in October when the seed is dry enough for storage. Seeds should be below 12 per cent moisture for temporary storage and below 10 per cent for long-term storage. Seed up to 15 per cent moisture is satisfactory for temporary storage in freezing weather, but spoilage is likely after a few days of warm weather.

The cost of production and return over variable costs for sunflower is similar to that for small grains. The culture of sunflower and growing season requirement makes them a good niche in cropping systems where small grains are the predominant crops.

Adequate support prices and efficient marketing system can also provide incentive to small farmers to grow sunflower. Inter-cropping of sunflower in wheat, sugar cane and potato can also help increase the area under its cultivation. There is a need to integrate the activities of research institutions and agriculture extension departments for better production of sunflower.