Two new AODs for estimating sunflower seeding density and harvest date
Two new AODs for estimating sunflower seeding density and harvest date
Paris, March 10, 2022 - Terres Inovia has developed and put online on its website two new decision support tools to estimate the sowing density and the harvest date of sunflower. While the crisis in Eastern Europe is disrupting sunflower supplies, it is more necessary than ever to help French producers to succeed in their crop and to put all the assets on their side to harvest all the quintals. These two tools have been produced within the framework of the Teo action plan, aimed at developing sunflower in France.
Terres Inovia continues to support sunflower growers through the Téo action plan by offering them action plan, by offering them simple digital tools to make the right decisions at the right time and thus maximize the potential of their crop. After "Tour de plaine" in 2020, which helps to recognize diseases, deficiencies and weeds present in the field in summer and to establish a sanitary assessment of the crop, the institute has just put two new tools online.
Successful planting to ensure harvest
Obtaining a high yield and oil content requires an adapted seeding density, a key factor for an optimal stand. The "sunflower seeding density" decision support tool enables to evaluate the number of seeds to be sown to reach the objective of the emergence density. This advice takes into account the hydric constraint and the climatic zone of the plot, as well as the spacing between rows.
Harvesting sunflower in good conditions is also essential to ensure the economic result. Harvesting close to standards and early enough guarantees the quality of the seeds (absence of oil acidity), reduces the risk of losses (birds, end-of-cycle diseases), maximizes the sunflower margin (limitation of drying costs) and optimizes the preparation of the next crop. The "sunflower harvesting date" decision support tool enables to estimate the harvesting period according to the sowing date and the envisaged varietal precocity. It advises on the harvest date to aim for in order to make the right choices at sowing and secure the harvest by limiting the risks of weather and accidents. The tool was built from a sunflower crop model, climatic data for the period 2001-2020 and the expertise of Terres Inovia.
Two tools on the Terres Inovia website
These tools are available free of charge to anyone who has created a personal account on the Terres Inovia website :
They are also available as an application programming interface (API) and can be mobilized on other digital interfaces via the API-Agro platform.
You can watch or replay on Terres Inovia's YouTube channel the IT Thursday of March 10, 2022 dedicated to the presentation and demonstration of the harvest date and seeding density tools for sunflowe r:
By the end of 2022, the Teo action plan calls for an online economic calculation support tool to estimate the profitability of sunflower.