Sunflower

Water

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

Needs about 440 mm of water here in its growing months. Rain in its months gives about 450 mm it can use in a normal year (320 mm in a dry one), and the soil holds about 0 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 21 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• Nov 15 °C / 3 °C (outside its best range)
• Dec 10 °C / -1 °C (outside its best range)
• Jan 6 °C / -3 °C (outside its best range)
• Feb 8 °C / -1 °C (outside its best range)
• Mar 14 °C / 2 °C (outside its best range)
• Apr 19 °C / 8 °C (outside its best range)
• May 23 °C / 12 °C

Soil

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

• The pH here suits it.
• Most fields here are short of iron.
• Most fields here are short of manganese.

Likes pH 6.0–7.5.

Money

Yield: about 4.2 quintals an acre, the typical figure across India (no figures for your state).

Mandi price at last season's harvest (July 2026): about ₹7,580 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 ₹7,000 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.