AbstractDeviation from uniform target plant population density in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) production may negatively affect canopy closure, yield, and grain quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of plant density heterogeneity on yield, quality, and canopy closure in confectionery and oilseed sunflowers. Field experiments consisted of fixed differences in the number of skips/doubles per plot while maintaining equal total number of plants, and stand gaps with proportional decreasing plant counts.These were conducted in Minnesota, Texas, and Colorado, USA. Experiments revealed that yield was occasionally influenced by heterogeneity, with more uniform stand density yielding higher; however, substantial changes in uniformity of plant density often resulted in no differences in yield. Confectionery sunflowers compensated for yield losses in thinner stands mainly by producing larger seeds (observed range of 0.1 to 46.2 % of seeds over a 9.53 mm sieve), while oilseed sunflowers increased seed production per head (as shown by invariable test weight across treatments within environments). Plants that were unharvestable for any cause (most often due to head rot disease or lodging) were more prevalent in less uniform stands, and faster canopy closure was achieved in uniformly spaced plants. Although sunflower is very resilient to stand uniformity issues, these findings underscore the importance of uniform sunflower plant spacing for effective weed suppression and crop performance, and highlights the need for further research into sunflower yield compensation mechanisms.Contentscan1920.xls - Contains canopy cover percentage data for different treatments in oil and confectionery sunflower crops for 2019 and 2020. Includes measurements at various days after planting (DAP) and statistical indicators.canopy_final.xlsx - Appears to be a summary or analysis of canopy cover data, including treatments, crop types (oil/confectionery), dates, years, and statistical significance indicators.Spacing_HarvestData_final.xlsx - Comprehensive dataset with detailed harvest information including location codes (e.g., 19CO, 19MN, 19TX), plot details, treatments, yield data, seed characteristics, and quality measurements for different sunflower types.These files contain the primary data used in the study on plant density heterogeneity effects on sunflower production, covering canopy closure, yield, and grain quality aspects mentioned in the paper abstract.