Sunflower

Water

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

Needs about 260 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 0 mm it can use in a normal year (0 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):

• Nov 29 °C / 13 °C
• Dec 26 °C / 10 °C
• Jan 25 °C / 9 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 29 °C / 12 °C

Months in orange are outside its best range.

Soil

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

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

Likes pH 6.0–7.5.

Money

Yield: about 4.2 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (your district's own figure looked wrong).

On rain alone it gets about 78% of the water it needs, so the money here is worked at 78% of this yield.

Mandi price at last season's harvest (February–March 2026): about ₹6,632 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 ₹592 a season after 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.