Introduction Turkey is one of the few countries in the world that is largely self-sufficient in terms of food. The country's fertile soil, access to sufficient water, suitable climate, and hardworking farmers all make for a successful agricultural sector. In addition, a broad range of crops can be raised because of the variety of different climates throughout the land. This has allowed Turkey to become the largest producer and exporter of agricultural products in the Near East and North African regions (Açar et al., 2016; Bozokalfa et al., 2016; İpek et al., 2016). However, despite all efforts to increase oilseed crop production, Turkey continues to be import-dependent for oilseeds and products. Sunflower is the most important oilseed crop of Turkey, with the production of approximately 650,000 ha annually (http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/). Most of the sunflower production areas in Turkey are devoted to oilseed sunflower types, and non-oilseed sunflower production is estimated to be practiced on about 100,000 ha, which corresponds to roughly one-sixth of the total harvested area. Eastern Anatolia is the largest geographical region of Turkey, where non-oilseed sunflower acreage accounts for approximately 90% of the total harvested area (http://www. fao.org/faostat/en/). Sunflower is mainly grown for two principal marketing objectives: oilseed and non-oilseed (confectionery). Non-oilseed sunflower production, although a small, specialized market in comparison with oilseed sunflower, is nevertheless constantly growing in size and importance due to the increasing demand for sunflower seeds in the health-food, confectionary, and snack trades. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are natural or synthetic organic compounds that control or modify one or more physiological events in plants. These synthetic compounds are widely used in plants, especially in cereals, in reducing plant height. The most commonly used and known PGR group is the gibberellins. Gibberellins affect many physiological functions in plants. They are essentially responsible for controlling cell elongation and shoot and stem growth (Spitzer et al., 2011). When gibberellins are applied to plants, internodes become shorter and leaves become thicker and greener, increasing both drought resistance and net photosynthesis (Arteca, 1995). Mepiquat chloride (MC), which is a gibberellin acid