Effect of planting date and cutting leaves on agronomic traits and yield of sunflower cultivars in dry farming

In order to study effectsofplanting date and cutting leaves on agronomic traits and yield of sunflower cultivars a field experiment was carried out in a split factorial experiment arranged in RCBD in 2005. Main plots consist of four planting date with ten days increment (from 30 march till 30 April 2005) and sub plots consist of three cultivars (Recor, Zarya, Azargol) with four levelofcutting leaves treatment (first level as control, second level by cutting alternate leaves, third level by cutting on-third of top leaves and fourth levels by cutting of on-third of intermediate leaves). Treatments were donning at flowering stage (R5). Evaluated traits were plant yield per plant, hollow diameter, disk diameter, disk weight, stem diameter, and stem weight, filled grains number per disk, filled grains weight per disk, hollow grain number, 1000 kernel weight, harvest index, productivity effort and grain number per disk. Different treatment ofcutting leaves on harvest index in (p<%1) and plant yield per plant and hollow grain number per disk in (p<%5) were significant. Effect of cultivars on plant yield per plant, disk diameter, disk weight, stem weight, filled grain number per disk, filled grain weight per disk, hollow grain number per disk, 1000 kernel weight, harvest index and productivity effort were significant in (p<%1). Means comparison showed that control treatment had maximum plant yield per plant with11.16 gr/m² and cutting one third of intermediate leaves had minimum plant yield per plant, second planting date had maximum plant per plant and Azargol had maximum plant yield per plant.