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Crop yield response to water - Cra

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Lead AuthorsMargarita Garcia-Vila(University of Cordoba, Spain)Elias Fereres(University of Cordobaand IAS-CSIC, Cordoba, Spain)Contributing AuthorsM. Henar Prie<strong>to</strong>(SIA, Junta de Extremadura,Badajoz, Spain),Carmen Ruz(IAS-CSIC, Cordoba, Spain),Rossella Albrizio(formerly CIHEAM-IAMB, Bari,Italy; currently CNR-ISAFOM,Ercolano, Italy),Mladen Todorovic(CIHEAM-IAMB, Bari, Italy)M. Auxiliadora Soriano(University of Cordoba, Spain).AcknowledgmentsTheodore C. Hsiao(University of California,Davis, USA)Scientists contributingwith experimentalDATA and tests for thecalibration of AquaCroPMarie-Therese Abi Saab(formerly CIHEAM-IAMB, Bari,Italy; currently LARI,Fanar, Lebanon),Rossella Albrizio(formerly CIHEAM-IAMB, Bari,Italy; currently CNR-ISAFOM,Ercolano, Italy),Carmen Gimenez(University of Cordoba,Cordoba, Spain),Theodore C. Hsiao(University of California,Davis, USA),M. Henar Prie<strong>to</strong>(SIA, Junta de Extremadura,Badajoz, Spain),Claudio Stöckle(Washing<strong>to</strong>n State University,Washing<strong>to</strong>n, USA),Mladen Todorovic(CIHEAM-IAMB, Bari, Italy),Ljubomir Zivotic(CIHEAM-IAMB, Bari, Italy)SunflowerGeneral descriptionSunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an annual plant that originatedin Central and North America and is now widely grown throughoutthe world. Among oil crops, sunflower is the fifth most cultivatedannual crop with 23.7 million ha in 2009, after soybean, rapeseed, cot<strong>to</strong>nand groundnuts (FAO, 2011). The sunflower area greatly increased afterthe introduction of hybrids in the early 1970s, and since then average <strong>yield</strong>increased moderately (Figure 1). World production of sunflower oil (13million <strong>to</strong>nne) represents around 9 percent of <strong>to</strong>tal world oil production,ranking fourth after palm (30 percent), soybean (26 percent), and rapeseed(15 percent) oil.Sunflower is grown in arid and semi-arid climates under irrigation or rainfed,and in temperate zones under rainfed conditions. The main producingcountries are the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Argentina, China, France,the United States, and Hungary, in that order (see Figure 2 for harvestedareas). Growing sunflower in rotation with other crops is very important forthe sustainability of the cropping system. In fact, sunflower fits in well as ascavenger crop following shallow-rooted crops, as its deep root system canrecover some of the nitrogen applied <strong>to</strong> the previous crop that has beenleached <strong>to</strong> below its root zone. Residual <strong>water</strong> left in the subsoil by previouscrops can also be exploited by sunflower (Fereres et al., 1993). In addition, itsshorter growing season, compared <strong>to</strong> many other summer crops makes it anattractive option for double cropping. Because of its high <strong>water</strong> extractioncapacity, sunflower can be important in rotations at locations with highprobabilities of annual replenishment of soil <strong>water</strong> at depth. Sunflower isusually grown in 3-4 year rotations (reducing the likelihood of disease) withcereals (e.g. wheat, maize, sorghum), soybean, and beans.Growth and DevelopmentEven though sunflower was originally a summer crop, it can be sown overa wide time period (once soils have warmed <strong>to</strong> 7-9 °C) because of its fastgrowth at relatively low temperatures; efficient pho<strong>to</strong>synthetic radiationcapture by sun tracking; and the early maturity of most cultivars. Intemperate regions with mild winters, highest <strong>yield</strong>s and oil percentages areobtained by sowing quite early, before spring arrives (Gimeno et al., 1989).Normal sowing dates in colder environments range from early <strong>to</strong> late164crop <strong>yield</strong> <strong>response</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>water</strong>

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