Sunflower

Sunflower

Scientific name: Helianthus annuus Common name: sunflower Family: Asteraceae Category: larger-seeded oilseed

Sunflower is one of the project’s five initial crops. It introduces a larger-seeded oil crop and the distinction between producing an agricultural product and processing it into another food product (PRD §8.4).

⚠️ Status: documentation outline, not research. All substantive values are Unknown. Do not treat as growing advice.

Why sunflower

Sunflower is the contrast case: large, easy-to-handle seed compared to chia/amaranth/sesame. It will eventually document the value chain:

sunflower plant → seed → cleaned seed → extracted oil

Key research areas (from the PRD)

• Plant spacing
• Water and nutrient requirements
• Head development
• Bird pressure (a real small-scale concern)
• Harvest maturity
• Seed removal / drying / storage
• Seed consumption and oil production

Documentation map

This crop will follow the standard structure (PRD §12), created from templates/crop/ as research begins:

• index.md · biology.md · climate.md · soil.md · planting.md · irrigation.md · fertilization.md · pests-diseases.md · harvesting.md · processing.md · storage.md · yield.md · economics.md · open-questions.md · sources.md

Suggested reading order

index.md → pests-diseases.md → harvesting.md → open-questions.md