‘Sunflower cultivation can reduce import bill of edible oil’
08/01/2025 (Associated Press of Pakistan), Faisalabad - The agriculture experts said that sunflower could help in trimming down import bill of edible oil if cultivation of this commodity was promoted massively in the country.
A spokesman for the agriculture (extension) department said on Wednesday that sunflower was a precious oil-seed crop which took about 100 to 110 days for its maturity. Its seeds contained approximately 40 % high-quality oil which could help in catering to domestic food requirements in addition to reducing import bill of edible oil, he added.
He said that January was the best month for sunflower cultivation and farmers should start its sowing immediately and complete it before January 31 as late cultivation could hamper its production and quality of grains.
He advised the growers to use the latest technologies and certified seeds of hybrid varieties which would help in producing the maximum yield due to their extraordinary resistance against the diseases and climatic changes.
He said that sunflower could be cultivated twice in a year. However, its spring crop gave better production than the yield of autumn crop.
He said that sunflower could be cultivated across the province. The farmers should use 2 kilograms per acre seed which had germination rate of 90 %. The growers should also ensure presence of 22000 to 23000 plantlets in one acre as this number was imperative to get bumper production, he added.