Girassol: possibility of expansion in Brazil

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is a plant that is defined by its common name and botanical name, considering that the genus derives from the Greek helios (sun) and anthus (flower), referring to the plant's characteristic of rotating its inflorescence following the movement of the sun. It originates from North America, with Mexico being the place of its domestication. In the 16th century, it was taken by Spanish conquerors to Spain and then spread to the European Continent. It is assumed that sunflower cultivation in Brazil began at the time of colonization of the southern region of Brazil, at the end of the 19th century, brought by the first European settlers.

Sunflower is cultivated around the world mainly as a source of edible oil, with a mild flavor, golden color and high nutritional value. Considering grain crops, sunflower oil is the third most consumed in the world and one of the most appreciated in cooking. On the Brazilian market, there are two types of refined sunflower oil: the traditional one, with a normal oleic acid content and rich in linoleic acid, and the high oleic type, with an oleic acid content of around 80%, very similar to olive oil. olive. Regular consumption of oil with a high content of unsaturated fatty acids in the diet can help reduce LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol). High levels of oleic acid additionally give vegetable oils greater oxidative stability during refining and storage processes, as well as when used in the food industry or in frying.

The sunflower is famous not only for the quality of its oil or the beauty of its flowers. It is also known as a source of protein for animal feed in the form of bran or in the composition of feed and as silage, with great acceptance in integrated production systems. In human consumption, grains can be used for confectionery or consumed roasted, common in many countries, being a good source of proteins, fiber, flavonoids, vitamin E, zinc, iron, among others. A well-known market is grains for bird feed. There is the possibility of integrated production of excellent quality honey, in addition to pollen, since the sunflower flower is very attractive to bees.

Sunflower cultivation is an option for diversification in succession and rotation systems in grain producing regions in the Brazilian Cerrado, as a second harvest crop. In these regions, it is still possible to take advantage of the end of the rains to sow sunflowers due to the greater capacity for root development and other mechanisms of tolerance to water stress. Sunflower is recognized for benefiting the crop in succession due to its low ability to export nutrients through the grains and, due to its deep root system, it exploits a large volume of soil, absorbing nutrients that were already beyond the reach of other crops, such as potassium (K) which, in sandier soils, has a greater possibility of leaching.

New markets

Despite being originally from North America, with its introduction in the old world, mainly as an ornamental plant, the most significant expansion of its cultivation occurred in Europe, mainly in Eastern European countries, as a crop supplying edible oil. However, given the quality of the oil, production spread to other continents.

In the last decade, Russia and Ukraine have stood out as the global leaders in oilseed production. Ukraine was responsible for 26% of world grain production in 2020. The two countries accounted for 53% of the world's sunflower oil production in the 2021/2022 harvest, which is exported to several countries in Europe and the Middle East (Figure 1) .

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has significantly affected the countries' agriculture and, consequently, global sunflower production. In the case of Russia, there is no evidence of crop interruption, but international sanctions have had a significant impact on exports of all Russian products. Ukraine, directly affected by the theater of war, had its sunflower production severely impacted, going from 17,5 million tons of sunflower grains in 2021 to 10,5 million in 2022. If Ukraine's next sunflower harvests become too compromised or cannot be exported, there will be a shortage of sunflower products in many importing countries around the world.

Despite the tragedy of the war, a great market opportunity opens up for emerging producing countries, such as Brazil. Here, sunflower continues to be a second crop crop, with an area and production of approximately 42 thousand hectares and 60 thousand tons of grains, respectively, estimated for the 2022/2023 harvest. The states of Mato Grosso and Goiás are the main producers of sunflower, where it is generally grown as a second crop, after soybeans (Figure 2). It is still little for sunflower, which has a gigantic potential to succeed the cultivation of soybeans, the main grain crop which, in the main summer harvest, occupies approximately 40 million hectares in the country.

Care in handling

Sowing is one of the most important steps in sunflower cultivation. It is a delicate operation which, due to the low density of the seed, must be capable of accurately distributing around 3 to 4 kg/ha. Therefore, the sowing operation is essential to obtain a uniform crop with the desired plant density. In general, the highest productivity is obtained with a population varying between 40 thousand and 45 thousand plants per hectare. However, this population may vary depending on the cultivar and soil and climate conditions. Likewise, the spacing between rows can vary from 0,5 m to 0,7 m, depending on the seeder and harvester available.

The sowing time varies according to the region. In the Central-West, sunflower adapts to second crop cultivation, in the soybean-sunflower succession production system, with sowing occurring from the end of February to mid-March. It is interesting to note that farmers cite other advantages of the system, such as the absence of competition in the sunflower sowing window with other crops, mainly off-season corn, and sunflower's greater tolerance to water deficit. This has allowed producers to have another cultivation option for this season, adding income and improving land use efficiency.

Another important step towards the success of the crop is the choice of sunflower cultivars, which must also consider the final destination of the production. The bird feed market prefers black and white striped grains, as it is easier for birds to separate the kernels from the shells. For the oil industry, there are already seeds of different varieties and hybrids available to farmers in the country, with high grain yield potential and oil content ranging from 40 to 50%.

Sunflower cultivation should preferably be allocated to areas that adopt management practices that improve the physical characteristics of the soil, as sunflower is sensitive to soil compaction. The amount of fertilizer required for sunflower cultivation is a function of the nutrient content in the soil and quantified by soil analysis. It is worth noting that the correction and fertilization of sunflower must consider the other crops in the production system in which it is inserted.

As for diseases, the most important are Alternaria spot (Alternariaster helianthi) and white rot or white mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum). Alternaria leaf spot, which mainly affects the leaves, but also the stem and capitulum, becomes more severe under conditions of high temperature and humidity, potentially causing damage to production. Like many crops, sunflower is a susceptible host to white mold and, therefore, should not be grown in areas with a history of the disease. Furthermore, choosing the sowing time is essential to minimize damage. It should be noted that the indication of the sowing time must meet the requirements of the plant at different stages of development and not favor the occurrence of diseases.

Just like sowing, sunflower harvesting is a crucial operation, in which large losses can occur if small details are not followed, such as grain moisture, ventilation, operating speed and harvest time, among others. Harvesting can be carried out with corn or soybean harvesters, equipped with a modified platform or, preferably, using special platforms for sunflowers. These platforms are efficient and make it possible to reduce grain losses, resulting in fewer impurities.

future challenges

The main limitation to a significant advance in culture in Brazil lies in the lack of a well-structured chain for commercialization and rapid absorption of increased production. In order to be able to process and sell the production generated by the eventual expansion of the cultivated area, industries would need to increase their grain and bran processing capacity, as well as expand their business to new markets, mainly Asian and European.

The challenges that sunflower faces in Brazil are basically three: offering producers a profitable crop that allows a second harvest, on the same area and in the same agricultural year, with stability and sustainability; offer another oleaginous raw material to the grain processing industries, reducing their idleness; and, finally, offer the market an edible oil with high nutritional value and an excellent raw material for the production of animal feed.

Given the scenario described, the economic sustainability of sunflower depends not only on the appropriate management of the crop, but also on the growth of the national agro-industrial sector, which will be able to take advantage of the opportunity arising from new consumer markets. There is still a long and promising way to go for the sunflower to become an important crop in the country.

By Regina Maria Villas Bôas de Campos Leite, Embrapa Soya

Article published in issue 294 of Cultivar Grandes Culturas Magazine