Sunflower

Water

Rain is enough in a normal year. Keep one irrigation ready for a dry year.

Needs about 260 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 60 mm it can use in a normal year (40 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):

• Oct 23 °C / 13 °C
• Nov 19 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 16 °C / 5 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 13 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 17 °C / 6 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 21 °C / 10 °C (outside its best range)

Soil

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

Not in the score: nitrogen.

• 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.

Likes pH 6.0–7.5.

Money

Yield: about 3.5 quintals an acre, the typical figure in your state (your district's own figure looked wrong).

Mandi price at last season's harvest (March–April 2026): about ₹6,255 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 ₹2,000 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.