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.
Only with irrigation: rain gives too little of its water to count on
- Doesn't suit: Too dry without irrigation
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Suits: Soil 8/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Too dry to grow on rain alone. It would need irrigation.
Needs about 300 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 110 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 34 °C / 22 °C
- Nov 33 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 31 °C / 14 °C
- Jan 30 °C / 13 °C
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.
- Many fields here are short of boron, which it needs a lot.
- Most fields here are short of nitrogen.
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).
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 (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).
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 nitrogen Your soil is likely short of nitrogen.
Add about a quarter more urea than the usual dose, in two or three splits. A pulse crop in rotation also adds nitrogen.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of sulphur Your soil is likely short of sulphur.
Use single super phosphate instead of DAP, or add about 100 kg of gypsum per acre before sowing.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.
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Short of zinc Your soil is likely short of zinc.
Mix 10 kg of zinc sulphate per acre into the soil before sowing. One dose lasts two or three seasons.
Ask your Krishi Vigyan Kendra what to add for this crop.