Sunflowers, as a global oilseed crop and ornamental plant, hold a unique position in China's agricultural market. They are favored not only for the healthy edible oil they produce but also for their popular seeds consumed as snacks. With growing consumer demand for healthy foods and an expanding leisure snack market, the prospects for China's sunflower industry are broad. However, to achieve sustainable development and high efficiency in the sunflower industry, scientific control of pests, diseases, and weeds, especially the rational application of pesticides, is crucial.

Overview of China's Sunflower Market

China is one of the world's largest producers and consumers of sunflowers. Sunflower cultivation is mainly concentrated in northern regions such as Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Gansu, and Jilin. In recent years, with the deepening of supply-side structural reform in agriculture and national support policies for oilseed crop cultivation, both sunflower planting area and output have shown steady growth.

Edible Oil Market: Sunflower oil, with its high content of unsaturated fatty acids and low cholesterol, has gradually become a healthy choice for consumers. The high-end edible oil market is seeing increasing demand for non-GMO sunflower oil.

Snack Market: Sunflower seeds, as a national leisure snack, have a huge market volume. Various flavored seed products are constantly emerging, satisfying the diverse tastes of consumers.

Feed and Industrial Uses: Sunflower meal is an important feed ingredient, and sunflower stalks can also be used for biomass energy or other industrial purposes.

However, sunflower cultivation faces many challenges, with pests, diseases, and weeds being major factors affecting yield and quality.

The Role of Pesticides in Sunflower Production

Pesticides, as an indispensable tool in modern agricultural production, play a crucial role in ensuring the yield and quality of sunflowers. Based on the provided control information, the application of pesticides in sunflower cultivation is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

Orobanche Control – Key to Ensuring Healthy Crop Growth

Orobanche is a devastating parasitic weed of sunflowers, and its occurrence can lead to severe yield losses. Since there is currently no single method that can completely eradicate Orobanche, pesticides play a particularly prominent role.

Soil Pre-emergence Herbicides: Before or after sowing but before seedling emergence, the use of soil-sealed herbicides can effectively inhibit the germination and early growth of Orobanche seeds. This provides a valuable time window for the healthy growth of sunflower seedlings.

Post-emergence Glyphosate Stem-directed Application: For Orobanche that has already emerged and parasitized sunflowers, using glyphosate with stem-directed application technology can precisely kill Orobanche while minimizing damage to the sunflower crop. This is currently one of the effective remedial measures.

Disease Control – Enhancing Sunflower Resistance and Yield

Sunflowers are susceptible to various diseases, with Verticillium wilt and Sclerotinia rot being two major threats. Pesticides play an important role in the prevention and treatment of these diseases.

Verticillium Wilt Control: There is no specific cure for Verticillium wilt, and it is mainly soil-borne, so prevention is key. While biological pesticides such as Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens show good effects, chemical pesticides like prochloraz and hymexazol have higher activity and are often used for seed treatment and soil disinfection to reduce pathogen spread.

Sclerotinia Rot Control: Sclerotinia rot can infect various parts of the sunflower, including roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. Before or at the early stage of onset, applying agents such as fludioxonil, thiophanate-methyl, carbendazim, and pyrimethanil via root drenching or foliar spray can effectively control disease spread and reduce yield losses. Rational application timing and methods are crucial for successful control.

Seed Treatment – Building the First Line of Defense for Crop Growth

Seeds are the starting point of crop life, and seed treatment is one of the most economical and effective measures to control seed-borne, soil-borne diseases, and underground pests.

Seed Coating/Double Coating: By coating seeds with multi-component mixtures of insecticides (e.g., thiamethoxam, chlorantraniliprole) and fungicides (e.g., carboxin, fludioxonil + metalaxyl-M), protection can be provided to young seedlings, resisting pest feeding and pathogen infection, thereby laying the foundation for vigorous sunflower growth.

Weed Management – Reducing Competition, Improving Resource Utilization

Weeds are major competitors to sunflower growth, vying for light, water, and nutrients, severely impacting sunflower yield. Herbicides are used throughout the entire growth period of sunflowers.

Pre-planting Burndown: Before planting, using non-selective herbicides such as glyphosate, glufosinate-ammonium combined with 2,4-D, or clethodim can clear existing weeds in the field, creating a clean growing environment for sunflowers.

Pre-emergence Herbicides: After sowing but before seedling emergence, applying soil-sealed herbicides such as fluralin, butralin, pendimethalin, S-metolachlor, and especially saflufenacil, can form a chemical barrier that effectively inhibits weed emergence.

Post-emergence Herbicides: After sunflower emergence, for grassy weeds, highly efficient fluazifop-P-butyl, quizalofop-P-ethyl, or clethodim can be selected; if broadleaf weeds are abundant, then acifluorfen, MCPA, or bentazon can be chosen to precisely remove weeds and reduce their harm to sunflowers.

Challenges and Future Development

Although pesticides play an important role in sunflower production, their application also faces challenges such as pesticide residues, environmental pollution, and the development of pest and weed resistance. The future development of China's sunflower industry will place greater emphasis on:

Green Plant Protection Technologies: Promoting non-chemical control methods such as biological pesticides, biological control, and physical control to reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

Precision Application: Developing intelligent agricultural technologies, such as drone spraying and precision variable-rate application, to improve pesticide utilization and reduce environmental risks.

Resistance Management: Scientifically rotating pesticides with different modes of action to delay the development of resistance in pests, diseases, and weeds.

Variety Breeding: Breeding excellent sunflower varieties resistant to Orobanche, Verticillium wilt, and Sclerotinia rot to address problems at the source.

In conclusion, pesticides play an irreplaceable role in ensuring the yield and quality of China's sunflower industry. With the advancement of agricultural technology and increased attention to sustainable development, pesticides will be combined with agricultural measures and biological control methods in the future to form a more scientific, efficient, and green integrated pest, disease, and weed management system for sunflowers, thereby supporting the continuous healthy development of China's sunflower market.