(NewsDakota.com/NDSU) – Sunflower producers, crop advisers, and others interested in sunflower production management updates are encouraged to participate in the 2023 Getting-it-Right in Sunflower Production Conference on March 21 from 8:30 a.m. to noon. This online-only conference will be hosted on Zoom.

The program will be conducted by North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension and is supported by the National Sunflower Association.

The conference is free to attend, but pre-registration is required (click here), this site also has video links to the previous sunflower production meeting. Those who pre-register will receive instructions via email on how to connect to the Zoom meeting.

“The 2022 sunflower cropping season resulted in record yields for both the oil and confection sunflower,” says Hans Kandel, NDSU Extension agronomist and co-organizer of the conference. “Sunflower is a deep-rooting crop and although part of the 2022 season was dry, the sunflower plants were able to tap into the stored soil moisture, resulting in the record farm yields.”

Topics during the sunflower production meeting will include hybrid selection, the importance of getting an optimum plant population, plant nutrient and soil management, updates for weed, disease and insect management, combine fire prevention and sunflower marketing. Participants are encouraged to ask questions via the Q&A Zoom function and speakers will answer these questions.

Attendees will receive a list of several pertinent Extension sunflower production resources as reference materials supplemental to the presentations. The presentations will be recorded and archived.

“During the fall of 2023, researchers, Extension staff and consultants will again conduct an intensive survey of North Dakota sunflower fields in order to evaluate agronomics, weeds, diseases, and insect and bird damage as part of the National Sunflower Survey,” says Greg Endres, Extension agronomist and co-organizer of the conference. “Trends based on previous field surveys will be woven into several of the presentations.”

Certified crop adviser continuing education credits will be available for meeting participants.