Sunflower

Water

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

Needs about 310 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 20 mm it can use in a normal year (10 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 100 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 32 °C / 19 °C
• Nov 31 °C / 16 °C
• Dec 30 °C / 13 °C
• Jan 30 °C / 12 °C

Soil

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

• 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.

Money

Yield: about 3.3 quintals an acre here (district figures).

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 2026): about ₹4,600 a quintal at mandis in your district.

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.

Prices are usually best in July.

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.