Agriculture experts have advised farmers to start sunflower cultivation and complete it up to mid of February to get bumper crop.
A spokesman for the Agriculture Extension Department told APP here on Monday that sunflower is an important edible oil producing crop which could help Pakistan to trim its import bill of edible bill. He said that maturity of the crop was only 130 days with a comparatively less cost and very high dividend. Therefore, the farmers should cultivate it over maximum space of their land as it would also play an effective role in mitigating their financial sufferings.
He said that the crushing season had started and the farmers should cultivate sunflower immediately after harvesting the sugarcane crop and complete it by mid of February. They should also prefer sunflower crops instead of late sowing of wheat as sunflower was an oil-seed crop which would not only play pivotal role in catering to our domestic food requirements but also in lessening financial constraints of the growers, he added.
Responding to a question, the spokesman told APP that the growers of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Khanewal, Multan, Vehari and Bahawal Nagar districts should start sunflower cultivation immediately and complete it by 31st January whereas most suitable time for sunflower cultivation in Muzaffar Garh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Lodhran, Rajan Pur and Bhakkar is from 10th January to 10th February.
Similarly, the farmers of Faisalabad, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Jhang, Sahiwal, Okara, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Lahore, Mandi Bahauddin, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Narowal, Attock, Rawalpindi, Gujrat and Chakwal district should cultivate sunflower crops from January 25 to February 15, he added.
He further said that the growers should cultivate approved sunflower varieties like Hi-sun-33, Hi-sun-39, Agora-4, NK-278, FH-331, DK-4040, G-101 and 64-A-93 because these varieties are not only disease resistant but also give bumper yield.—APP
