Safflower

Water

Rain falls about 2 irrigations (5 cm each) short in a normal year, so it's risky without water.

Needs about 330 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 80 mm it can use in a normal year (50 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.

Temperature

Grows best at 20–32 °C on average, and survives 5–45 °C.

Here, in its growing months (day / night):

• Oct 29 °C / 21 °C
• Nov 26 °C / 16 °C
• Dec 24 °C / 13 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 23 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 26 °C / 12 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Safflower: 8 out of 10 (good).

• Soil here is often more acidic than it likes.
• Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.

Likes pH 6.5–7.5.

Money

Yield: about 3.1 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

On rain alone it gets about 85% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 85% of this yield.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹5,081 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹6,080 a quintal, the middle of 12 mandis across India (latest 12 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹975 a season after typical costs.

Minimum support price: ₹7,215 a quintal (2027-28), if you sell to government procurement.

Prices are usually best in December.

Typical costs are about ₹15,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.