Planting & Managing
Your Armor® Dove Pro
Sunflower Crop
These general planting and management recommendations provide a glimpse into the steps you’ll need to take when creating a sunflower food plot for doves. Every field is different, however, so we recommend consulting your local Armor® Seed agronomist for assistance in developing a customized plan for your acres.
- Seed coverage: Depending on planting technique, 10 lbs. of Armor Dove Pro 21 CL or Dove Pro 55 CL seed will cover approximately 3 acres.
- Weed Control Trait: Armor Dove Pro seed products utilize the Clearfield® Production System trait, which is produced with conventional breeding for use with Beyond® herbicide to control post-emergent weeds. This is a great option for no-till or minimum-till sunflower areas, or fields containing weeds that are hard to control with other herbicides.
- Seed Treatment Technology: Armor Dove Pro sunflower seed can be ordered with seed treatment products like CruiserMaxx® Sunflowers, Dynasty® or Lumisena™ fungicide seed treatments. These products can help protect against early season insect pressure and/or diseases like downy mildew to help optimize sunflower yields.
- Soil:
- PH Range: 6.0-7.5
- Soil Type: Tolerant to acidity, well drained, clay loam or silty clay loam, and sandy loam soils.
- Planting Dates: For best results, soil temperature must be above 50 degrees
Fahrenheit at 2” depth. Typical regional planting windows are:
- North: Mid May – June
- Central: Mid April – May
- South: April – Early May
- Tillage Requirements / Ground Preparation:
- Row Planter
- Seeder
- Spreader / Broadcaster
- No till
- Minimum till
- Conventional till
- Planting Rate:
- Row Planting: 3 lbs/acre or roughly 20,000 seeds/A
- Seeder: 4 lbs/A or roughly 25,000 seeds/A
- Broadcasting: 5 lbs/A or roughly 30,000 seeds/A
- Planting Depth:
- Row: Plant or seed at a depth of 1.5” to 2.5”
- Broadcast / drag: Drag into a depth of 1.5”
- Weed Control:
- Burndown: Burndown with 22 oz Roundup PowerMAX® (0.77 acid equivalent glyphosate)/A and disk prior to planting.
- Pre-emerge at seeding: Burndown with 22 oz Roundup PowerMAX® (0.77 acid equivalent glyphosate)/A after planting and prior to sunflower emergence.
- Post-emerge: Apply 4 oz/A Beyond® herbicide (Imazamox) when sunflowers reach 2-8 leaf stages; earlier in that window will provide better control than later.
- Fertilization: Have soil samples tested about a month before planting and make
adjustments to fertility levels based on lab results.
- Pre-plant application: 200 lbs/A of a 25-5-25 fertilizer blend.
- In-season application: 200 lbs/A of a 25-5-25 fertilizer blend.
- Days to Maturity:
- Dove Pro CL 21 – average of 128 days
- Dove Pro CL 55 – average of 125 days
- Days to Bloom:
- Dove Pro CL 21 – average of 69 days
- Dove Pro CL 55 – average of 68 days
Armor® Seed, Cornerstone®, CROPLAN®, Section® and WinField® are registered trademarks of WinField United. Clearfield® and Beyond® are trademarks of BASF. CruiserMaxx® and Dynasty® are trademarks of Syngenta. Roundup PowerMAX® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology LLC. Lumisena™ is a trademark of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies.