Enhancing Sunflower Productivity Through Folıar Application of Thiourea
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Keywords:
Sunflower, thiourea, application rates, plant height, head diameter, oil contentAbstract
Pakistan is sternly deficit in edible oil production. Sunflower is an oilseed crop, which
contains 36-50 % oil content. By using nutrients with different combinations, its growth, yield and oil
percentage can be increased. Sulphur is more important to boost oil production in oilseed crops. Thiourea
contains four elements including Sulphur (42.11%), Nitrogen (36.81%), Hydrogen (5.31%) and carbon
(15.77%). To determine the impact of thiourea application on sunflower cultivated under rain fed
conditions, the current study was executed at University Research Farm of PMAS Arid Agriculture
University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The experiment was designed in Randomized Complete Block Design
(RCBD) with 3 replications. There was one control and three treatments of thiourea including 5 m mol,
15 m mol and 25 m mol. The study parameters included were plant height (cm), head diameter (cm), stem
girth (cm), achenes per head and oil yield. After 4 weeks of thiourea application, plant height was
observed the highest of 80.14 cm in plants treated with thiourea when applied @ 25mmol that was
statistically higher to other application rates of 5 and 15 mmol and also the control. After 8 weeks of
thiourea application, plant height was observed the highest of 150.42 cm in plants treated with thiourea
when applied @ 25mmol that was statistically similar to its application rates of 5 and 15 mmol but
significantly different from that of the control. After 4 weeks of thiourea application, head diameter with
the maximum of 22.75 cm in plants treated with thiourea with its application of 25 mmol that was
statistically different to all other application rates and the control. After 8 weeks of thiourea application,
head diameter was recorded the highest of 47.10 cm in plants treated with thiourea with its application of
25 mmol that was statistically similar to its application of 15 mmol but significantly higher to other
application rate of 5 mmol and also the control. Stem girth observed the highest of 9.45 cm in plants
treated with thiourea when applied @ 25mmol that was statistically higher to other application rates of 5
and 15 mmol and also the control. The maximum achenes of 1089.28 per head were recorded in plants
treated with thiourea with its application rate of 25 mmol that was statistically similar to those plants
treated with application rate of 15 mmol but significantly different from those treated with application
rate of 5 mmol. The oil content of sunflower was recorded the highest of 40.79 % in plants treated with
thiourea with its application of 25 mmol that was statistically different and higher to its application of 15
mmol and 5 mmol and also the control..
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