Sunflower
Sow in October, harvest around January
Still sowing time: sow by the end of November.
Grown on 9.1 acres here. Priced from mandis across your state.
₹19,000–₹29,000
per acre a season, before costs
At typical costs, from a loss of ₹4,000 to a profit of ₹5,000 an acre a season
- Suits: Rain is enough
- Suits: Ideal temperatures
- Needs care: Soil 7/10
Why, and how to make it work Hide details
Water
Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.
Needs about 280 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 70 mm it can use in a normal year (30 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 190 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 28 °C / 20 °C
- Nov 28 °C / 18 °C
- Dec 28 °C / 16 °C
- Jan 29 °C / 16 °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.
How the soil score worksMoney
Yield: about 3.6 quintals an acre here (district figures).
Mandi price at last season's harvest (January–February 2026): about ₹6,593 a quintal across mandis in your state.
This week: about ₹7,423 a quintal, the middle of 18 mandis in your state (latest 13 Nov). At that price an acre would leave about ₹4,000 a season after typical costs.
Minimum support price: ₹8,343 a quintal (2026-27), if you sell to government procurement.
- ₹5,880 2021
- ₹5,960 2022
- ₹4,660 2023
- ₹4,640 2024
- ₹5,860 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
-
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.
About 100% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
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.
About 18% of local fields of this crop get it.
-
Short of boron Your soil is likely short of boron.
Mix 4 kg of borax per acre into the soil before sowing.
Few local farmers add it to this crop, so it's an easy place to get ahead.
What local farmers put on it (share of fields):
- Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) 100%
- Muriate of Potash (MOP) 84%
- Urea 59%
- Ammonium Phosphate Sulphate / Nitrogen Phosphate 18%