This dataset consists of growth and yield data for each season when sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) was grown for seed at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Laboratory (CPRL), Soil and Water Management Research Unit (SWMRU) research weather station, Bushland, Texas (Lat. 35.186714°, Long. -102.094189°, elevation 1170 m above MSL). In each season, sunflower was grown on two large, precision weighing lysimeters, each in the center of a 4.44 ha square field. The square fields are themselves arranged in a larger square with four fields in four adjacent quadrants of the larger square. Fields and lysimeters within each field are thus designated northeast (NE), southeast (SE), northwest (NW), and southwest (SW). Sunflower was grown in the NE and SE fields. Irrigation was by linear move sprinkler system. Irrigation protocols described as full were managed to replenish soil water used by the crop on a weekly or more frequent basis as determined by soil profile water content readings made with a neutron probe to 2.4-m depth in the field. Irrigation protocols described as deficit typically involved irrigations to establish the crop early in the season, followed by reduced or absent irrigations later in the season (typically in the later winter and spring).
The growth and yield data include plant population density, height, plant row width, leaf area index, growth stage, total above-ground biomass, leaf and stem biomass, head mass (when present), kernel number, and final yield. Data are from replicate samples in the field and non-destructive (except for final harvest) measurements on the weighing lysimeters. In most cases yield data are available from both manual sampling on replicate plots in each field and from machine harvest.
These datasets originate from research aimed at determining crop water use (ET), crop coefficients for use in ET-based irrigation scheduling based on a reference ET, crop growth, yield, harvest index, and crop water productivity as affected by irrigation method, timing, amount (full or some degree of deficit), agronomic practices, cultivar, and weather. Prior publications have focused on sunflower ET, crop coefficients, and crop water productivity. Crop coefficients have been used by ET networks. The data have utility for testing simulation models of crop ET, growth, and yield and have been used for testing, and calibrating models of ET that use satellite and/or weather data.