Safflower

Water

Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.

Needs about 370 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain gives about 10 mm it can use in a normal year, and 10 mm in a dry year.

Temperature

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

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

• Sep 34 °C / 24 °C
• Oct 33 °C / 18 °C
• Nov 28 °C / 11 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 23 °C / 7 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 19 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 23 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Safflower: 7 out of 10 (okay).

Not in the score: nitrogen and boron.

• Soil here is often more alkaline than it likes.
• Most fields here are short of phosphorus.
• Most fields here are short of organic carbon.
• Most fields here are short of manganese.

Likes pH 6.5–7.5.

Money

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

Rain gives it too little of the water it needs, so there's no income figure on rain alone: grow it only with irrigation.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹5,235 a quintal across India's mandis.

This week: about ₹6,080 a quintal, the middle of 12 mandis across India (latest 12 Nov).

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.