**5. Conclusion**

**Cultivars**

**Defoliation** 

**Seed yield** 

**Seed yield** 

**The** 

**Crude protein** 

**Crude protein** 

**The increase in** 

**Crude oil** 

**Crude oil yield** 

**The** 

**increase in** 

**the crude** 

**oil yield** 

**compared** 

**to control** 

**(%)**

**the crude protein** 

**percentage** 

**(kg/da)**

**yield compared** 

**(%)**

**to control (%)**

**yield (kg/da)**

**percentage (%)**

**increase** 

**in the** 

**seed yield** 

**compared** 

**to control** 

**(%)**

"08-TR-003"

0 (Control) 70.1 ± 0.68 c

2 4 6

> "TR-3080"

0 (Control) 72.4 ± 0.10 b

2 4 6

"TARSAN-1018"

2 4 6

> Mean

**Table 1.** and crude oil yield in sunflower (*Helianthus annuus L.*).

82.1 ± 0.10 a

451.6 ± 1.20 a

80.6 ± 0.24 ab

443.4 ± 1.30 a

77.3 ± 0.42 b

425.3 ± 2.30 ab

0 (Control) 74.1 ± 0.80 b

68.5 ± 1.00 c

376.6 ± 5.51 b 407.3 ± 4.41 b

10.87

18.6 ± 0.72 a 18.1 ± 0.34 a 20.3 ± 0.09 a 18.9 ± 1.31 a

> 10.46

The difference between the averages indicated by different letters in the same column is statistically significant at the 0.01 level.

The effect of different defoliation treatments on seed yield per plant, seed yield per decare, crude protein percentage, crude protein yield, crude oil percentage,

85.1 ± 0.77 a 6.97

81.0 ± 1.02 b

77.1 ± 0.90 c

75.6 ± 0.86 c

12.61

46.8 ± 0.46**a** 46.9 ± 0.26**a** 46.4 ± 0.25**a** 47.8 ± 1.29**a**

215.3 ± 1.46 a 14.98

206.0 ± 5.96 b

199.7 ± 1.67 bc

190.7 ± 1.32 c

12.92

70.6 ± 0.69 b

388.1 ± 3.77 b

78.7 ± 0.82 a

432.7 ± 4.50 a

72.6 ± 0.72 b

399.0 ± 3.97 b 398.3 ± 0.57 ab 8.64

78.4 ± 0.28 a

431.2 ± 1.52 a

67.6 ± 0.85 d

371.9 ± 4.68 d

385.4 ± 3.74 c

11.87

18.2 ± 0.41 a 16.7 ± 0.38 a 16.6 ± 0.56 a 16.9 ± 0.49 a 16.7 ± 0.76 a 16.3 ± 0.41 a 17.5 ± 0.17 a 15.7 ± 0.03 a

59.2 ± 1.13 c

67.7 ± 0.81 b

70.4 ± 0.67 a

66.2 ± 0.75 b

6.40

46.3 ± 1.32**a** 48.4 ± 0.44**a** 47.6 ± 1.34**a** 46.3 ± 1.79**a**

173.8 ± 1.29 c

184.7 ± 2.06 b

209.5 ± 1.60 a

184.8 ± 1.47 b

13.36

68.2 ± 0.53 ab

71.7 ± 1.25 a

62.8 ± 1.10 b

70.4 ± 1.12 a

1.90

45.4 ± 1.49**a** 46.7 ± 0.63**a** 48.3 ± 0.45**a** 46.5 ± 0.50**a**

185.1 ± 1.84 b

207.7 ± 1.18 a

14 Physical Methods for Stimulation of Plant and Mushroom Development

173.1 ± 1.08 c

175.0 ± 4.16 c

18.67

**treatment**

**(g/plant)**

**(kg/da)**

Due to the increasing world population and the rapid consumption of natural resources, there is a need to increase crop production. Aside from increasing the agricultural lands to increase crop production, existing agricultural lands are decreasing day by day. In this case, it is necessary to develop new high-yielding cultivars and to apply agricultural techniques (fertilization, irrigation, and agricultural pest control) as the best way to increase crop production. However, with the rapidly increasing world population and ever-narrowing areas available for agriculture, the development of new cultivars resistant to biotic and abiotic stress factors (extreme heat, extreme cold, salinity, new pest culprits, and pest breeds) is extremely difficult due to time limitations and to the resistance characteristics being under the control of more than one gene. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new methods in order to increase the yield per unit area for plants that play an important part in human nutrition (wheat, corn, rice, sunflower, etc.).

With this research, it has been shown that crop production can be increased by physiological stimulation of plants. In greenhouse researches, it has been determined that reduction in the photosynthetic surface, through a certain number of defoliations in the plant, results in an increase in photosynthetic activity in the remaining leaves of the plant, which causes significant increases in the agricultural characteristics.

[6] Snedecor GW, Cochran WG. Statistical Methods. Iowa, USA: The Iowa State University

The Effect of Leaf Removal–Based Physical Injury on High Seed and Crude Oil Yields…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71357

17

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[13] Sackston WE. Effects of artificial defoliation on sunflowers. Canadian Journal of Plant

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Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science. 1978;**26**:133-144

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Using the method developed in this research, decreasing the number of leaves at the beginning of the reproductive stage in sunflower plant has resulted in significant increase in agricultural characteristics such as seed yield, crude protein yield, and crude oil yield. Thanks to this developed environmentally friendly production method, an increase of about 120,000 tons of crude oil production has been achieved in sunflower. The developed method can be successfully used in other plants to increase the crop production.
