Sunflower
One of Turkey's key summer honey crops, especially in Thrace; it yields golden honey that crystallises quickly and plenty of orange-yellow pollen.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Honey yield
- 20–50 kg/ha
- Crystallisation
- Fast
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 1-3 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
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Thanks to its vast acreage, sunflower provides one of the biggest midsummer nectar flows in Turkey. Each head consists of hundreds of tubular florets that open from the outside inwards over several days. Nectar secretion depends heavily on the variety, soil moisture and temperature: it is plentiful on days of 25-30 °C and in moist soil, and markedly lower in dry years and hot winds.
Flowering
A field flowers for about 2-3 weeks in July-August; with second-crop sowing it shifts to late August.
Honey and pollen
The honey is golden yellow with a mild aroma and crystallises very quickly with a fine grain, so it must be extracted in time, before it sets in the comb. Orange-yellow pollen comes in abundantly, but its protein value is low.
Note for the beekeeper
Thrace (Edirne, Tekirdağ, Kırklareli) is the main migration area. Bring the hives in at the start of flowering, discuss field spraying with the growers and do not delay the harvest because of the risk of crystallisation.