In addition, processing of oilseed type sunflower seeds for the bird seed industry has been expanding. Over the longer term, the increased focus on sunflowers in the US which are low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated fat, NuSun, is expected to provide increased competition for canola oil in the US domestic vegetable oil market. It then spread throughout the world and developed as an oilseed crop in Russia during the late 1800s. Currently, there are basically two types of sunflower seed produced, oil and confectionary. Canadian production started during World War II as a domestic alternative to imported vegetable oil.
Sunflower grows best on loam, silty loam, and silty clay loam soils with good drainage.
It has a low tolerance for saline conditions, therefore soils with moderate to high levels of salinity should be avoided. These reserves of water and nutrients are unavailable to most other annual crops, making sunflower a good rotational crop. It should be seeded as early as possible, usually in the first half of May, since it requires 115-125 days to reach maturity. Shorter season varieties have been developed for areas where the traditional hybrids cannot be grown. They have the further advantage of being able to be sown and harvested with the same equipment as cereal grains or canola, whereas the traditional hybrids require specialized equipment.