Around my part of Huntingdonshire, quite a few large fields (the normal size here) have been planted with Sunflowers. But not one of them has been harvested, and now they stand, blackened and drooping sadly, as winter approaches.
But why? I can’t imagine they make either good game cover, or green manure crops. Is this a “subsidy” thing I’ve missed? Or is it standard practice to leave them standing over winter?
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The crop may have been abandoned due to poor weather and poor yield.
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Thank you: that might explain it. Around here it’s unusual to see aught but oil-seed rape - though onions were popular until the local storage unit burnt down.
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Sunflowers are usually harvested in September.
Given their susceptibility to Botrytis and Sclerotinia infection in wet conditions and the generally poor growing conditions this year in terms of temperature and sunshine, abandonment does seem to be the most likely explanation.
See links about sunflower cultivation here:
https://farmpep.net/project/role-and-position-sunflower-uk-agriculture
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Thanks to you, also.
My involvement in agriculture dates back to the pre oil-seed rape era, with farmers pondering if beef would ever hit the £1 / kg mark…
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Have there been vast flocks of finches feeding on the sunflowers or all seeds fallen out?
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It’s one of the oddities that I haven’t seen many birds in their vicinity. One of the fields is just across the road from Monks Wood NNR, so I might have expected to see more.
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