B. Meal:

Non-dehulled or partly dehulled sunflower meal has been substituted successfully for soybean meal in isonitrogenous (equal protein) diets for ruminant animals, as well as for swine and poultry feeding. Sunflower meal is higher in fiber, has a lower energy value and is lower in lysine but higher in methionine than soybean meal. Protein percentage of sunflower meal ranges from 28% for non-dehulled seeds to 42% for completely dehulled seeds. The color of the meal ranges from grey to black, depending upon extraction processes and degree of dehulling.

C. Industrial Applications:

The price of sunflower oil usually prohibits its widespread use in industry, but there are several applications that have been explored. It has been used in certain paints, varnishes and plastics because of good semidrying properties without color modification associated with oils high in linolenic acid. In Eastern Europe and the former USSR where sunflower oil is plentiful, sunflower oil is used commonly in the manufacture of soaps and detergents. The use of sunflower oil (and other vegetable oils) as a pesticide carrier, and in the production of agrichemicals, surfactants, adhesives, plastics, fabric softeners, lubricants and coatings has been explored. The utility of these applications is usually contingent upon petrochemical feedstock prices.

Sunflower oil contains 93% of the energy of US Number 2 diesel fuel and considerable work has been done to explore the potential of sunflower as an alternate fuel source in diesel engines. Blends of sunflower oil and diesel fuel are expected to have greater potential than the burning of pure vegetable oil.

D. Non-Oilseed:

The use of sunflower seed for birdfeed or in human diets as a snack, has grown consistently over the past 15 years. Varieties used for non-oilseed purposes are characterized by a larger seed size and require slightly different management practices. During processing, seed is divided into 1) larger seed for in-shell roasting, 2) medium for dehulling, and 3) small for birdseed. Standards for different uses vary.

E. Forage:

Sunflower can also be used as a silage crop. It can be used as a double crop after early harvested small grains or vegetables, an emergency crop, or in areas with a season too short to produce mature corn for silage.

Forage yields of sunflower are generally less than corn when a full growing season is available. In one study, sunflower dry matter yields ranged from 2.0 to 3.0 ton/acre compared with 3.1 to 3.8 ton/acre for corn. Moisture content of sunflower at maturity is usually high (80 to 90%) and would require wilting before ensiling.

Nutritional quality of sunflower silage is often higher than corn but lower than alfalfa hay (Table 1). Crude protein level of sunflower silage is similar to grass hay and higher than corn silage. Generally, crude protein of sunflower decreases and lignin percentage increases after the flowering stage. High plant populations increases fiber and lignin percentage. Seed size does not seem to affect yield or quality.

^{Table 8: Nutritional quality of sunflower, immature corn, and mature corn silage, alfalfa hay (harvested in early bloom) and timothy bay (harvested in late vegetative stage).}

	Silage			Hay
	Sunflower	Immature corn	Mature corn	Alfalfa	Timothy
	% of dry matter
Total digestible nutrients	67.0	60.0	69.0	58.0	68.0
Crude protein	11-12	8.2	7.8	18.0	11.4
Ether extract	10-12	2.6	2.9	2.2	2.4
Crude fiber	31.0	31.0	23.0	31.0	31.0
Acid detergent fiber	32.0	---	31.0	38.0	33.0
Lignin	10-16	---	---	9.0	3.1
IVDDM1	63-70	---	---	66.0	63.0