Sunflower

Water

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

Needs about 240 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 20 mm it can use in a normal year (0 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 160 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 / 21 °C
• Nov 28 °C / 15 °C
• Dec 25 °C / 11 °C
• Jan 23 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

Soil for Sunflower: 9 out of 10 (good).

• The pH here suits it.
• Many fields here are short of sulphur, which it needs a lot.

Likes pH 6.0–7.5.

Money

Yield: about 3.6 quintals an acre here in this season (district figures).

On rain alone it gets about 75% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 75% of this yield.

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 lose about ₹3,000 a season at typical costs.

Minimum support price: ₹8,343 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.

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.