 It rained cats and dogs last night and our field is very wet. The plants are
growing well. What do you notice about this scene compared to
past field pictures? Well, the important point is that you can't see
the soil between the rows now. Why is that important? Two reasons,
sunlight can't hit the soil surface now to dry out the ground and weeds
can't compete well with the larger sunflower plants.
 The plants are about 36 inches tall and V16 to V17 stage. Look at the
size of those leaves, they are huge.
 I mentioned at an earlier date that sunflowers have an alternating
arrangement of leaves on the stem. This is an excellent example of
alternating leaves. As you move up the stem, a leaf is at about a 90 degree
angle from the one below it.
 This is the growing point with a cluster of leaves. But the flower head
is starting to develop. When you see a star-like structure that's the head
and it is at the R1 stage.
 This is the arrangement of leaves under the growing point. There are at
least eight or nine leaves within a couple inches of the growing point. |
It rained cats and dogs last night and our field is very wet. The plants are
growing well. What do you notice about this scene compared to
past field pictures? Well, the important point is that you can't see
the soil between the rows now. Why is that important? Two reasons,
sunlight can't hit the soil surface now to dry out the ground and weeds
can't compete well with the larger sunflower plants.
