With more than a dozen high quality hybrids in our portfolio and management recommendations backed by years of replicated field trial data, the CROPLAN® seed brand has long been a leader in the sunflower industry. 

That doesn’t happen by chance. It’s the result of a dedicated team of professionals that constantly strives to make exceptional products and services even better than they already are. From the folks in the cutting-edge WinField® United Innovation Center and the boots-in-the-field Answer Plot® crew, to our longstanding relationships with major industry breeders and suppliers, agronomic research and product development is always top of mind. Here are some of the advancements we’re bringing to the CROPLAN sunflower portfolio in 2026.

Hybrid Advancements Present Opportunities for Sunflower Growers
For many years, CROPLAN CP455E has been the highest volume product in our sunflower seed lineup and one of the top products in the sunflower industry as a whole. This has presented a challenge for our advancement program, because when you have a hybrid that performs so well on high-producing soils, it’s hard to find something that beats it.

The new products being added to our portfolio possess more defensive traits for average- to tough-producing acres. For example, new CROPLAN CP4490E has emerged as a leader for these acres. The low response-to nitrogen (RTN) and low response-to population (RTP) hybrid offers excellent resistance to Phomopsis and sclerotinia, and it possesses the M9 gene that provides broad-spectrum resistance to nine different downy mildew races. For wetter, potentially high-yielding environments, CROPLAN CP4255E has become a go-to hybrid with its strong Phomopsis tolerance.

Perhaps most exciting of all, we are launching a new product that has excelled in Answer Plot testing for several years. New CROPLAN CP4623E can perform at a similar level to CP455E and, in some cases, even tops the performance of CP455E in moderate- to higher-producing acres that may require better disease ratings to succeed. In addition to having excellent sclerotinia tolerance and slightly earlier maturity than CP455E and CP4255E, new CP4623E has shown higher yield potential than current CROPLAN sunflowers in Answer Plot testing.1 Seed production for CP4623E took place in summer of 2025, and good supplies are available for 2026 planting.
 
Fortenza® Seed Treatment Provides Valuable Protection for Sunflower Seedlings
We’re pleased to announce that Fortenza seed treatment will continue to be included with all of our new sunflower products in 2026. An elite seed treatment package in the sunflower industry, Fortenza provides emerging sunflowers with extra protection against cutworm and armyworm, giving growers more time to evaluate insect pressure and determine whether additional insecticide applications are needed.

Cutworms destroy sunflower seedlings by feeding at or below the soil surface when plants are at their most
vulnerable stage (V4 or earlier). Armyworms feed on the seeds themselves, which can lead to reduced yields and lower seed oil content. Significant pressure from either of these pests can necessitate replanting, but Fortenza seed treatment helps sunflower seedlings emerge and thrive, providing the crop with increased stand establishment, improved plant vigor and more biomass.

Tom Irwin, an agronomy manager with Mott Equity Agronomy, reports that his customers have been hoping for Fortenza seed treatment for some time:

“Cutworm has been a huge nuisance in our customers’ sunflower stands,” Irwin says. “A lot of times, you won’t
know you have a problem until the damage is already done, and then reduced yield potential is unavoidable. So having Fortenza seed treatment will buy growers some extra time and help them stay ahead of the game, whether that means spraying when cutworms are still active or protecting the plant until enough heat units accumulate and the insects move into the pupate stage,” he adds. 

Fortenza seed treatment will come standard next season on CROPLAN CP4255E, CP4490E, CP4475E and
CP4623E sunflower hybrids. It will be an optional add-on product for CROPLAN CP455E, CP450E, CP4157E, CP7919CL, CP5249CL and CP5045CL sunflowers.

Plenaris® 200FS Fungicide Seed Treatment Offers Defense Against Tough Disease Pressures 
In addition, Plenaris 200FS fungicide seed treatment is now included as part of the CROPLAN base seed treatment package, providing improved protection against races of downy mildew on both susceptible and resistant sunflower varieties.

Downy mildew typically infects sunflower seedling roots in water-saturated soils soon after planting, usually resulting in severely dwarfed plants and reduced seed production if the plant reaches maturity. Although sunflowers usually are able to compensate for the infected plants and limit the amount of yield loss when infections are sporadic, heavily diseased areas of a field often end up with large bare spots that produce little to no yield. All CROPLAN sunflower hybrids come treated with Plenaris seed treatment.

To learn more about these seed treatment products and our new hybrids, contact your CROPLAN local retail seed expert. They can help you introduce them to your sunflower operation in 2026 and beyond.

 
<sub>¹Six Answer Plot locations across ND, SD and MN, 2024. 

All photos are either the property of WinField United or used with permission. 

© 2026 WinField United. Important: Before use always read and follow label instructions. Crop performance is dependent on several factors many of which are beyond the control of WinField United, including without limitation, soil type, pest pressures, agronomic practices and weather conditions. Growers are encouraged to consider data from multiple locations, over multiple years and to be mindful of how such agronomic conditions could impact results. Answer Plot, CROPLAN and WinField are trademarks of WinField United. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.</sub>