Sunflower
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
No figures for your district: its government crop records list no area or yield for this crop. Priced from mandis across India.
₹21,000–₹32,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹2,000 to a profit of ₹9,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough, even in a dry year.
Needs about 220 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 50 mm it can use in a normal year (30 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 200 mm from the monsoon at sowing.
Temperature
Grows best at 17–34 °C on average, and survives 5–45 °C.
Here, in its growing months (day / night):
- Oct 31 °C / 22 °C
- Nov 29 °C / 17 °C
- Dec 26 °C / 13 °C
- Jan 24 °C / 11 °C
Soil
Soil for Sunflower: 8 out of 10 (good).
- Soil here is often more acidic than it likes.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
Likes pH 6.0–7.5.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 4.2 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹6,349 a quintal across India's mandis.
This week: about ₹7,283 a quintal, the middle of 20 mandis across India (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹7,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹8,343 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹5,570 2021
- ₹5,590 2022
- ₹4,440 2023
- ₹4,340 2024
- ₹4,960 2025
Prices are usually best in August.
Typical costs are about ₹23,000 an acre (seed, fertiliser, labour and hired machines, from the government's cost survey). They are spent whatever the harvest.
How to make it work
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Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.