Sunflower agronomy: 10 years of research in partnership within the “Sunflower” Technological Joint Unit (UMT) in Toulouse

In order to make more efficient plant breeding and gain in competitiveness, the sector of oil-protein crops decided to intensify agronomic research on sunflower crop. The “Sunflower” Joint Technological Unit (Unite Mixte Technologique (UMT) “Tournesol”, in French) was launched in the Toulouse area in 2006, associating closely INRA and Terres Inovia. First focused on improving oil production through an agronomic approach, the UMT was renewed in 2011 with a broader partnership and a more assertive orientation towards the development of decision-making tools. The objective of this paper is to highlight the relevance and productivity of this user-oriented research facility. The main results relate to (i) the co-construction of a simulation model (SUNFLO) that can be parameterized and manipulated by Terres Inovia engineers, (ii) the joint exploration of supra-field scales and new methods for agronomic diagnosis and yield forecasting based on remote sensing, (iii) the tuning and dissemination of operational decision rules, (iv) the production of essential knowledge on emergent and/or damaging fungal diseases, as well as on complex interactions between genotype, environment and crop management. After a concluding symposium in 2016, new requests for sunflower research were formulated by the participants. They also advocated for a diversification of crops to consider in order to better meet the needs of the whole oil-protein sector.