sunflower pest control, seed weevils and other pests

Despite their very beautiful looks and even the fact that they're a symbol of happiness, sunflowers are more at risk from insect infestations than a lot of other plants, except maybe corn. Seed weevils are perhaps the most damaging insect foe of sunflowers. These tiny beetles bore into the heads of sunflowers and lay their eggs within the growing flowers. The emerging larvae feed on the seeds from the inside and it causes hollowed out kernels that are almost worthless when the time comes to harvest.

Look at those little pests

You can determine if there is an infestation of sunflower seed weevils by looking for small holes on the flower heads or noticing an early drooping of the flower heads. Many farmers have turned to spraying insecticides when the flowers are at the bud stage. But timing is very critical to this process. If the insecticide treatment is applied either too early or too late in the development cycle of the sunflowers, the efforts will almost be in vain.

Birds also contribute to losses from growing sunflowers, although not in the same manner, because they feed on the seeds from flower heads once they begin to mature. For those who have time and money to use prober equipment, putting netting over sunflower heads works well to prevent damage from birds, but for the average grower, lossing seeds is an accepted risk.

Weevil pests have many different species, including the sunflower moth and stem weevils. I can't tell which species I saw but they're nasty trouble makers for the sunflowers.

Some weevils attack the stem of a sunflower and others attack the seeds. Stem weevils bore into the stem and weaken the entire plant structure, and thr seed weevils sting the inside of the florets. While accurately determining how widespread stem weevils are versus seed weevils, it is known that both types of weevils create challenges for sunflower growers in various areas of production.

Crop rotation is an important component of preventing the overabundance of these pests. By growing sunflowers in the same location every year, you're basically inviting an increased risk of insect damage. Some growers are using intercropping methods to mitigate their risk of pest infestation by planting competitive crops alongside their sunflowers, but I haven't seen a research that supports this idea that growing competing crops consistently reduces pest populations.

The sunflowers I see are ok though

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